Agnus Dei
by SilverFlover
Summary: One heart frozen with ice, and another drowned in tears. Dracula and Agnes are not the type of people who can love, but things grow to change with time...Can an angel love a vampire? And vice versa? Please R
1. I Meet Miss Desewffy

**I do not own Dracula, and any other characthers that are form the movie, they are the property of Stephen Sommers. But I do own the others. So don't sue me.**

**For my deard readers who all take care to look at my story: fogive me for any grammar mistakes, I'm not a native speaker of English.**

Hungary, 1862

It was a late-autumn morning, Agnes was in the west-wing of the Desewffy-mansion in Nádudvar, in her room. It was rather small, compared to the size of the mansion, furnished with carwed, wooden furniture, the walls covered with bourdon wallpaper. Nothing really showed that the room belonged to somebody, she didn't have time to make it homy in a month's time: there were only few books on the shelves, and the cupboards were half-empty as well. Agnes was just putting her empty gripsack upon her bed, when her father stepped into the room.

„What is it, that I hear? You're leaving again! You came home barely a month ago! I haven't heard of you for three years, lest the letters you wrote, and you leave me all alone again!"

said Peter Desewffy, the lord of the mansion, entwining his arms, looking at his daughter reprovingly. Agnes lifted her head, while searching under her bed. Her father looked just like when she left her home 3 years ago.

„ Grey trousers, white shirt, long, Bocskai-coat. Father really hasn't changed a bit!" she thought, then stood up, and stepped to her father.

„ So I guess you heard some gossip, haven't you? But I assume that the servants didn't mention where I was going, right?" asked Agnes in a nippy tone „ But how would they know!"

Agnes was wearing a long black skirt with leather boots, black Bocskai-coat, a crimson vest and a white blouse. Lord Peter fancied her beautiful face, deep, always-curious brown eyes, along with her wavy brown hair, which cascaded down to her waist, and glimmered with a hint of red, as the October sun shone upon it. Despite what others thought of her, he was very proud of his daughter. She was more than non-conventional, both in beauty and nature. Even now, in the safety of her home, she was heavily armed with her Catana sword, and her dagger, both hanging from the leather belt around her hip.

Agnes was looking lovingly at his father's old and wrinkled face, lively grey eyes, and grizzled hair. This image had always accompanied her wherever she went.

„ I got Elizabeth's letter this morning" continued Agnes " She asked me to join her in Borszék, she's there at the moment in her fiancé's summer castle as long as she's having her wedding-gown sewn."

She went to the table and took the letter from it, gave it to her father, and went on with the packing.

„Your sister has always had her ideas! Although the wedding will be only 3 weeks from now! I can't go with you right now, I have to be in Pozsony."

" I have seen no representative of the parliament, who would be more concerned about his job than you, but you will only need to get there for the wedding."

„ Well, somebody must stand up for the rights of the lesser-nobles in the parliament, I can't get the situation get any worse. Do you really need to go today?"

„ I'll travel by horse, and be there in a few days. During the nights I shall sleep in the barn of a farm, and then...."

„Alright, wait a minute!" interrupted Lord Peter „I'd rather you travelled by a stage-coach instead."

„ Oh my, father, you know I have always travelled by horse with the master as well, it's no trouble"

„The master again! If I knew you wouldn't come home for 3 years, I would never have let you join that man from the East!"

„ Come on, father! The master is a good man, you know that as well. During those three years, I learnt more form him, than during the 12 years of school! „ said Agnes, as she was squeezing a heavy brown bag into her gripsack.

„When I said, that I wanted to raise you and Elizabeth in a liberal spirit, this was not exactly what I meant! If you only knew how many times I have regretted letting you go!" siad Lord Peter with a sigh. Agnes strapped her gripsack, then stepped to her father and hugged him.

„ I became educated and I've seen the world. Surely I will get along somehow." said Agnes and looked and her father, making a funny face, and raising her eyebrow.

„Well, all this is mighty fine, but who will marry a noble lady who is wearing a sword, and two daggers?"

„One dagger." said Agnes sturdily.

„And the one in your boot?" asked Lord peter.

„ Alright, but how did you know that? Oh, never mind" Agnes smiled and shook her head.

„Look father, I promise you that if I find a man that I grow to love and can protect me, I will put my sword down. But until that, I can only rely on myself if I step over the doorsill, and leave our estate"

said Agnes, with glimmering eyes

„ I'm really proud o you, my little lady, you remind of the legendary warriors, who the myths of old times talk about. But I'd still want you to take the stagecoach to Transylvania.

„ Father, you're so stiff!" laughed Agnes, and she left her father's embrace and grabbed her package „Alright, but I need some money for that, I would not pay for the coach and the inn, if it was for me!"

„ I'm a representative in the Hungarian Parliament, you think I cannot pay for your journey?" asked Lord Peter sardonically, and gave a pouch of money to his daughter. Agnes put her hat on, which was decorated with the tail feathers of pheasants.

„ Fine, then tell Szabolcs, we're going to Debrecen, I want to catch the afternoon stagecoach!"

Lord Peter ordered the postillion to get the newly bought cart, and be ready to leave in half an hour. At the given time Szabolcs was waiting for Agnes at the main entrance of the mansion.

„ You're leaving again, my lady?" asked Szabolcs, and greeted Agnes with a warm smile, while getting of the coach-box. „Is it so boring here?"

Agnes smiled back at him. The postillion was in his fifties now, but he had been serving her family since her childhood, and witnessed all her childhood pranks.

„I'm going to Transylvania to visit my little sister. But I'll be home sooner this time. I promise!" Lord Peter got outside as Szabolcs was putting Agnes' package on the coach.

„ I wish you a pleasant journey, my darling, take care!" said Lord Peter, hugged his daughter, and kissed her forehead. He looked down at his daughter with a smile, and asked

„You're still wearing your mother's necklace, aren't you?"

„I would never take it off" said Agnes, and pulled a silver chain from under her blouse with a beautiful gem hanging upon it. It was a fine piece of art; silver leaves surrounded six crystals, which formed a star.

„ She would be just as proud of you as I am now. You really look like her, you know? Although in nature you resemble your grandmother. I will miss you very much."

„Come on, we'll see each other in 3 weeks. And you have to be there, whatever happens in Pozsony!" said Agnes with a smile.

„ What a glib tongue our little lady has!" laughed Lord Peter „ Go now, before I get angry. But don't make a manhunter of your sister by the time I get there!"

„Come on daddy, I'm no manhunter! But come to think of it..." laughed Agnes, making a funny face at his father. Lord Peter let his daughter go, and Agnes hurried down the stairs, and sat in the coach.

„ Send a letter to Elizabeth that I'm on my way!" shouted Agnes from the window of the coach.

Szabolcs commanded the horses to set off, and they left the Desewffy estate in a comfortable gallop.

**So, what do you think? Contact me if you need any mapping info, and please rewiew!**


	2. II Of memories and guesthouses

**Thank you for all you have read, and all who have reviewed, here's a new chapter, I hope you like it, you can find out more about the heroine. For those who review, I would accept critics about the style and language of my story, since this is my first fic here, and in Eglish as well. I really don't know if I'm doing things right. **

**to the Widow Dracula: thank you for noting me about the spelling mistake, I have corrected it already, it will be displayed soon I guess! Glad you liked the story!**

**to Angel-of-Darkness25: I'm glad you liked the story, but remember that father loves daughter, I will have others to deal with this "accepting" topic regarding Agnes , keep on reading.**

     Agnes and Szabolcs got to Debrecen by late afternoon. The coach was leaving from near the train station, and Szabolcs packed Agnes' gear on it, and quickly set off to get back to Nádudvar. Agnes decided to venture off a bit, and re-explore the town of Debrecen, which has changed much since she last visited it. She took a walk in the NagyerdÅ' Park of the town, where she and her sister have played together, whenever their father took them along when he had to arrange something Debrecen. But now her head was filled with thoughts of the past three years.

    She could clearly remember the day when Master Ittou arrived at the Desewffy-mansion, as an ambassador of the Far-Eastern country, Tibet. He stayed only for a few days, but Agnes tried to spend as much time with him as she could, finding the short, black-haired, yellow-skinned man particularly interesting. The day when Mr Ittou was leaving, he offered Agnes to take her along to his European and Near-Eastern trip, for he needed a beautiful lady to accompany him to the royal courts. Lord Peter wouldn't hear of it at first, but then Agnes managed to persuade him, that the trip would only do her good. When Master Ittou and Agnes set off on Midsummer's Eve she was supposed to stay away from home only for a few months. Lord Peter was very much worried about his daughter, who was to become 17 years old, that October. But the months of Agnes' absence grew to a year, and later to 3 years. During this time the Master travelled through many countries from England to Arabia with Agnes by his side. Occasionally, Mr Ittou didn't travel the conventional way, as an ambassador was supposed to, but often he chose mere horseback instead of trains and coaches. Agnes soon had to learn how to ride a horse, and how to use the catana sword, which the Master gave her. She didn't really dare to tell her father all about her adventures when she got home, thinking it might scare, or raise him to fury.

    By the time she got this far in the past, she also got back to the coach, in which two people were already sitting. Agnes also sat in the coach, and greeted them politely. The couple answered the greeting with an accent, and Agnes asked them where they came from. They told Agnes that they were from England, and came to Hungary to see the people and their lifestyles because they were writing a book about them. The man was wearing an elegant black suit, the lady was in a light-blue dress, and they both had blonde hair with blue eyes.

„Just like most of their fellow countrymen" said Agnes to herself. She chatted with them for a little while, and then she got lost in her thoughts again, as the stage coach set off. But this time, her mind was running on her sister, Elizabeth. Although they exchanged letters regularly in the past years, Agnes was curious about what has become of her, what is she like, now that she's 18. „ I wonder what kind of fiancé did she pick out for herself! She always had a good taste when it came to men, so I guess he must be very handsome, and he is a count in addition!"

Agnes stared out the window of the coach for a long time; she loved the sight of the plains by the setting Sun, and she fell asleep eventually.

It was late in the evening by the time they got to the first stop of the stage coach, near Nagyvárad. The English couple woke Agnes up, she put her hat on, and they got off the coach together. Outside it was cold and rainy the wind was blowing heavily as well. The coach stopped at a guesthouse, which stood on its own, in the middle of nowhere. The coachman took the travellers' bag off the coach, and turned to Agnes

„We'll continue the journey tomorrow at dawn, tell the pale-faced people too! Be careful lady, nasty people often show up here! You can wait for me if you want and I will see after you and the foreigners!"

„ No, thank you, there is no need for that mister, we can see after ourselves." replied Agnes and threw her bag on her shoulder and went to the guesthouse after the English couple. Inside, it was warm, and the light of the candles and the fireplace was reflected from the dark-brown furniture, giving a calm and peaceful feeling to the place. The innkeeper's counter was in the right corner, with the stairs leading up to the first floor next to it. The only other furniture of the guesthouse was chairs and tables on which all kinds of people were sitting, and drinking at the moment.

Agnes walked to the counter, where the English couple was trying to explain their requests to the innkeeper, with all eyes fixed on her. The pattering sound of her boots' heels could be heard even in the noise, the people were making. Agnes put her bag down on the floor and her hat on the counter, than talked to the couple about what room they would prefer, and wanted to turn to the innkeeper to arrange all, when she heard a deep voice from behind her back.

„Just look at the elegant foreigners there! Maybe they have some gold for us too!"

„You might be right there fellow," answered another voice" 2 women, and a dandy guy, piece of cake! I wouldn't want to miss this one!"

„And afterwards we could show the ladies what Hungarian men have in their trousers!" finished a third voice. Agnes shut her eyes, and lowered her head; she didn't want to mess up this calm evening. The innkeeper turned to the men in a begging tone

„ Leave them alone! I don't want my guesthouse to have a bad reputation! Nobody will come here if you rob all my guests!"

„ You think we care about your broken-down guesthouse? We only care about gold"

„It's starting again!" thought Agnes, and she lifted her head and turned around to the men.

„We're not all foreigners, and we would rather keep our gold to ourselves if you don't mind!" she said in a sharp tone and looked and the robbers confidently. They were surprised at first, but the answer came soon enough. The robber's leader, a tall, dark-faced and unshaven man stepped forth.

„Look at this little ratbag here, isn't she funny?" said he, and started laughing loudly. Then suddenly they all shut up, and the guesthouse became covered in heavy quiet. The English lady hung on tightly to her husband, who was even more afraid than his wife.

„ We'll cut her tongue out, if she's being so rude!" said the man evilly, and beckoned to the others to attack the travellers. The innkeeper hid under the counter, when he saw that the leader of the bandits was only two steps away from Agnes. But then at that moment Agnes smiled sarcastically, and drew her sword, which gave a hissing sound. She held the blade to the man's throat, who was stiffened with surprise. Agnes' finely crafted sword was glimmering in the candlelight, and bandit was staring at it with frightened eyes. The other bandits were standing motionless, and the guests were all stunned by the scene. The English lady thought that Agnes might kill the man at any moment, and she was crying quietly, burying her face in her husbands shoulder. Finally, the bandit's leader broke the silence.

„Look, my lady, we are unarmed"

Agnes answered cynically.

„How polite you are now! As long as I now, you thought we were unarmed, when you and you fellow-badguys openly discussed how you would rob and rape us!"

The man was standing helplessly, trying to beg for mercy with his eyes.

„Look, I have no intention of hurting you," said Agnes, calming down after a few minutes, and the bandit gave a loud sigh.

„you're not worth making my sword dirty." she continued with a cold voice.

„Leave now, and don't return as long as we're here." The 4 other bandits retreated towards the door, and Agnes turned to their leader.

„ I will show you where the door is, just in case you got lost on the way!" she said with a satirical smile, and nodded towards the door.

„Where is the country where they forge swords, which is wielded by women?" asked the man indignantly as he started walking towards the door, with Agnes' sword close to his nape.

„ My sword was forged from the finest Japanese steel in the fires of Tibet, and I was taught how to wield it on the roads of Europe, by the most qualified warrior of the East, who pays RESPECT to women!"

As they reached the heavy wooden door, the bandit opened it immediately, and rushed outside. Agnes could hear him jump on his horse, and ride away swearing. She put her sword away, shut the door, and walked back to the counter. All were looking at her in amazement, but nobody said a word. She turned to the innkeeper, who in-between has recovered himself from under the counter.

„Thank you for paying attention to my gear. I would like a single room, and supper to my room, the lord and the lady would like a double room, and they will come down to have dinner. We'll pay in the morning"

The innkeeper was standing still, looking at Agnes like he has never seen a woman before.

„Please, don't look at me like this" said Agnes in a tired and plaintive voice „Give me my room key, I'm tired, and want to get some rest at last!

'Right away, miss!" said the innkeeper, as he woke up from his surprise, and started delving behind the counter. Finally he showed two keys to Agnes

„We have four rooms, the single one is the second on the left side of the corridor, all the others are double rooms. Have a pleasant rest, somebody will take your dinner up soon."

Agnes put the key away, and headed upstairs on the creaking stairs. She threw her bag on the floor as she shut the door behind herself, and then fell on the bed.

„I wish I were at Borszék already!" she thought, „I'd rather be 2 days older if it was possible. I don't want to draw my sword again until after Elizabeth's wedding!"

The clock on the corridor has already stricken twelve, when the innkeeper brought up her dinner, so Agnes could not get to bed as early as she wanted to. Not only did she sleep little, her dreams were also disturbed.

**Oh, and by the way, I already have much of the story in writing, and also in my own language, so basically I'm translating now, so you can expect a new chapter every other day. That's good news isn't it?**


	3. III Lady Leila

** Hello, all nice raders! I've managed to translate two chapters today, because my English linguistics seminar was cancelled, and I got home early! I hope you will enjoy them! I would still appreciate critics in connection with my style and language. Thank you for the reveiws! :-)**

The following day, the travellers set off with the coach at dawn, and reached Kolozsvár in the evening. They spent a night at a peaceful inn, and Agnes had no bad dreams either. The little group continued the journey to Gyergyószentmiklós also at dawn, but this time an old gypsy lady joined the travellers. She was short and a little plump, had straight, dark hair down to her waist, black eyes, wrinkled face and dark skin, typical of her people. She wore a long black skirt, fiery red corset with a dark leather vest, and patterned blouse. Her colourful shawl was decorated with glittering coins. She came not long before setting off, and sat down fronting Agnes, greeted the others, and remained silent for a long time. After eyeing Agnes for quite a while, who was wearing trousers, the gipsy lady engaged her in conversation early in the afternoon, and they found out quite a lot about each other. The old Lady Leila was very much interested in Agnes' stories about her globetrotting, and Agnes was glad she could talk openly to somebody about what she had gone through in the past years

As they were getting closer to the heart of Transylvania, the landscape gradually changed around them. The grassy plains were replaced by high mountains, which were dressed in pine, oak and chestnut trees, and their tops often covered by a cloud. Among the mountains small villages, clearings, and blue watered lakes were hiding. Agnes spotted the church tower of Gyergyószentmiklós not long before sunset, and she was glad to be able to continue her journey to Borszék that day. Children were playing near the town in the fields, and they were waving with their raunchy hats to the stage coach as it passed by. Agnes started smiling, and waved back to them along with Lady Leila. As they were waving, Agnes' palm caught Lady Leila's eyes.

„ Would you allow me to take a look at you palm Miss Agnes?" she asked " My people have long years of tradition in palmistry. Many regard us as charlatans, but whatever we say, will become true eventually." said the old lady in a mysterious voice. Agnes was looking at her in a surprise while making an odd face at first, but then she held out her hand to Lady Leila. She has met various forms of palmistry during her journeys, and she has heard a lot about the legendary talent of the gypsies in Southern Europe many times. The old lady leaned above her hand, and examined the humps and lines on her palm for a long time.

„Your palm tells a lot about you miss Agnes! Your lifeline is the longest I've ever seen, you will spend more time in this world than I will, and I'm not young you can trust me!" said Lady Leila, and pointed at one of the lines on Agnes' palm, and then her finger slid to another.

„ Your love line is deep, and also long, you will have an everlasting and passionate love in your life, but it will cost you a horrible sacrifice. Your husband will be a nobleman, an attractive one, a count!"

Agnes took her hand from in front of the old lady.

„I'd be really glad if I was to marry someone from the high nobility, but they rarely choose a fiancé from the lesser-nobles! But, if my sister managed to do so, perhaps I could make somebody's heart throb, „said Agnes in a sad tone „ but I'm mourning my love at the moment, I'm not open for anyone's courtship yet."

She lowered her head, and tears filled her eyes, but she forced them back; she didn't want to cry in front of anybody. Lady Leila noticed them however.

„ You cannot go on in grief forever, let him go, that is the best you can do. Let him rest in peace."

„ I know that darn well myself, but it is just too hard. It's been 2 years, but the love still lingers on, even with him gone."

„ You have to accept this, and life must go on, I'm sure he would be very disappointed if he saw you crying for him. You're young and beautiful, men should cry for you, not vice versa. Come on, hold your head high, you are a lady, HE would want you to be happy, isn't that true?"

Agnes nodded. „I don't know why I was telling you all this, lady Leila, sorry for bothering you with my muddled love life."

„ It is an honour for me that you trust me this much. Remember to take my advice, I don't want my words to fall on stony ground." said the old lady as she lighted her pipe to start smoking. „ Open your heart to the world, I've seen much of life already, I know what I'm talking about."

They were sitting in quiet for a while, then Lady Leila finished smoking, took a knife out of her bag, and gave it to Agnes. The knife's grip was of finely crafted cherry wood, plated with brooks of silver, the blade was in a beautiful leather holster.

„ Look out for yourself while you are in Transylvania, staying here has dangers in it for you. Always keep your eyes open!" said the old gypsy lady.

„ But I cannot have this, you might need it as well, and it's probably worth a lot!"

„ I know you will make good use of it, and you know how to use it. A third weapon may come handy to you besides those two you already have." said Lady Leila, and nodded towards Agnes catana sword. Agnes pulled out the knife from its holster and examined the blade. It was decorated with runes of ancient languages, and she could spot it right away, that it had had many owners already.

By this time the stage coach was getting closer to it's stop, the town hall of Gyergyószentmiklós, and there were only a few hours until sunset. Agnes put the knife away, and turned to the old lady.

„Thank you very much Lady Leila, but why did you give this to me? I'm sure you have other reasons besides that I will make good use of it."

" You're a gifted person, miss Agnes. You see people, not even I could fool you!" said the old lady laughing. „ You remind me of my younger self. When I was your age I was dreaming about adventures just like you do. But of course my parents married me to a boring man, and all my dreams of adventures faded away, back then. I wish you a better luck than I had!" said Lady Leila, and became quiet for a while.

„ But come to think of it" she continued „ now that my dear husband, I pray he rests in peace, is not lord over me anymore, I might make a few of my dreams come true. Who knows, maybe I will set of tomorrow morning to Africa!" she said in a cheerful tone.

Both were laughing as the coach stopped in front of the town hall.

Agnes asked the coachman to get her luggage off the coach as soon as possible, for she wants to set off right away.

„You want to go on to Borszék my lady? There's no way you will get there by sunset!"

„Thank you very much for paying so much attention to me, but as I have already told you in Nagyvárad, I can see after myself." replied Agnes in an impatient tone.

„ I have no doubt about that. I will give you your bag right away. Sorry for bothering you"

Agnes took her bag, said goodbye to the coachman and the English couple, and then turned to Lady Leila.

„ I hope I will see you again at a time! You're one of the most interesting people I have ever met."

„ Maybe you shall" said the old lady „ Perhaps you will see me during one of your future adventures. But hurry miss Agnes, leave at once, there are much worse things in the forest at night than bandits! You can hire a horse behind the city hall on the market square"

„ Alright, alright. I hope you make you dreams come true. I wish all the best to you!" she said, and hurried off towards the city hall.

„The same to you young lady!" said Lady Leila.

Finally Agnes managed to hire a hazel horse, on which she rode hell for leather towards Borszék on the mountain roads.


	4. IV A wedding gown in a mirror

**At last, I tryto make up for all the trouble to dissatisfied readers, Dracula will finally take part in this scene! I hope I have managed to find his style of speech and everything. I would like critics in connection with that, I'm totally unsure if all is proper around him! Plz!**

While Agnes set off from Gyergyószentmiklós in a rushing zest, Elizabeth Desewffy was standing on a small pouf, in front of a large mirror at the Sáradi mansion, in Borszék. She was in an elegantly furnished room: the walls were painted white; the lower half of them was covered in brown arras, made of velvet. The furniture was richly adorned, the Count Sáradi himself had it brought from Vienna just for Elizabeth. The tent-bed, along with the vanity table and the tea table with four chairs, all were plated with brooks of gold. A marvellous rug covered the floor and the western wall was made up totally of windows, the view was beautiful from outside the balcony, to which the french windows led. The most beautiful peculiarity of the room was a huge Venetian mirror, in front of which Elizabeth was standing, eyeing herself in her ivory wedding-gown.

Three dressmakers were stirring about her to do the finishing touches on her dress. It was made of glittering silk, decorated with blue ribbons; the colour scheme perfectly matched Elizabeth's white skin and grey-blue eyes. She was looking at herself happily, and was very much contented with the dressmakers' work. With her short and fragile figure, shoulder-long, curly golden hair, Elizabeth did not resemble her sister in looks at all.

„ How beautiful you are miss!" said Julia, who was Elizabeth's lady companion „ The count will be amazed, I'm sure!"

„ Do you really think so?" asked Elizabeth, and turned around to look at her dress from all sides „ I can't wait for that Saturday! In hardly 3 weeks I will be Ferenc's wife! I can't believe it! It's too good to be true!"

Than the folowing moment, somebody knocked at the door.

„ Come in!" said Elizabeth. The butler's well-known podgy figure appeared behind the door, he was holding a white envelope in his hand.

„ Good afternoon miss! You got a letter from Nádudvar. It's your father's handwriting."

„ Thank you Imre" said Elizabeth, and jumped off the pouf, and took the letter from the butler. She opened it, and walked to the window to read it by the light of the setting Sun.

„ Oh my God!" she exclaimed in joy „ Father says that Agnes set off from home 3 days ago!"

„ Your sister is coming here, miss? Alone? It is very dangerous to travel around her without a man to escort her!" said Julia

„ I hope she won't get hurt, but I assume she is careful enough not to travel alone!"

Elizabeth looked out the window, and hoped to see a carriage turn up in the entrance of the mansion at any moment, which brings her sister along.

„ Miss, could you please get back to the pouf? „ asked one of the dressmakers diffidently „ If you would like us to finish the dress today, we would still have a few things to look at."

„ Oh, of course, I almost forgot about that, I'm so excited! Imre, please tell the servants to get a room ready for Agnes, she might arrive tomorrow morning already!" said Elizabeth and walked back to the pouf.

„ Please tell me miss, who should we count on, just in case your sister arrived while you're still asleep. What does she look like? Does she resemble you for instance?" asked the butler.

Elizabeth was examining her dress in the mirror again from the top of the pouf, and answered Imre in a happy tone.

„ You know Imre, I haven't seen my sister in 3 years, but I guess she couldn't have changed much. For one clue, she is not like me at all. You can expect someone tall, with a dark complexion, and with a catana sword I guess. That's all I can say for sure. You know what a catana is, don't you, Imre?"

„ Yes miss, I know. I will try to sort out the problem if she appears earlier than expected."

„ Alright, „ said Elizabeth „ then it will be your duty to welcome her, and show her to ther room! You can leave now, start to arrange things please. This is so exciting!"

„ Right away, miss!" said Imre, and backed out of the room.

At the highest peak of the mountains around Borszék, lay a dark castle that had been carved from the mountain centuries ago, with 3 tall towers, which pierced the cloud-covered sky. The mountain under it was covered in mist; it always remained hidden to the eyes of mortals. Only one secret path led to the dizzy height of the monolithic construction, within the bowels of the gigantic mountain. No mortal had entered this place by his will ever before.

Within the walls of the castle, the most famous vampire of all times, Count Vladislaus Dracula, was observing the events in the Sáradi mansion. He was standing in front of a mirror, which showed Elizabeth, standing on the pouf in her wedding dress. Dracula had his eyes fixed on the image; he was totally lost in what he saw. He was totally dressed in black; trousers, coat, cloak, riding boots. He wore his jet-black hair in a ponytail, a golden erring glittered in his left ear. His pale face had noble features: his lips were thin; he had eyes like black lakes troubled by fantastic moons. At first sight, he seemed to be in his early forties, but in fact he was one of the oldest creatures who existed, his age exceeded 4 centuries.

Behind the count, stood his servant, Igor. Dracula gave him the gift of immortality a few hundred years ago, but he had to pay for it with serving Dracula for an eternity. Igor got a distorted form of immortality; he has left half of his hair, his skin became a disgusting grey and he could be harmed by mortals, just like everybody else. He was a quite repulsive sight in his torn clothes and lame gait. He was by all means loyal to Dracula, and even that moment, he was watching his masters every word.

Dracula got all the power he could ask for, as the Prince of Darkness, he only missed one thing from his undead life: the immortal love. He longed to get the fiery burning of his blood and the love back, which he had missed so much from the years of his mortal life. Time after time he sired new women, but he found nobody who would make a suitable bride for eternity. After Dracula had woken up from a hundred years of sleep, the first thing he wanted, is to find a beautiful maiden to have her burned in his lust and passion. And as Igor was in Borszék once, he spotted young Elizabeth Desewffy, he immediately knew, how he would impress his master.

„ Your versatility even surprises me sometimes, Igor." said Dracula, still staring at the mirror "Although you still haven't found the perfect one, this little girl will be just right to ease my loneliness and boredom a bit" finished Dracula, and smiled evilly, turning towards his servant.

„ She is very beautiful master, isn't she?" asked Igor, and stepped closer to the mirror„ I was afraid she was too young to be your bride, but I see.-"

„ She is young, Igor" interrupted Dracula „ but she is also nothing but a preposterous, Christian filly who blushes like a virgin, but has been deflowered long ago. What makes it worse, she is of noble blood. Unclean women were punished in the past, but lately, the moral of the people has rotten much!" said the count in an irate voice, making a grimace, but his features smoothed after just a few seconds. He turned back to the mirror, which still showed Elizabeth's image.

„ I thought it was my privilege to commit morally downgrading sins. Who would live according to God's rules if they don't? Foolish mortals. But regarding the girl, as I said, she will do for now. At least for a few days." he continued smiling widely "Just look at her! „ he held out his hand towards the mirror „She is so happy to be getting married to some mortal husband. If she knew, that within a few days she would be in one of my bedrooms!" Dracula started laughing, and it echoed throughout the castle. Then he turned on his heels, and started to walk out of the room, through the giant carved doors with his hands folded behind his back.

„ Come on, Igor, we have a lot to do, and very little time left!"

„ Yes, master! „ replied Igor, and tried to hurry after Dracula.

**So, what did you think? Post some reviews pleeeeeeeeease!**


	5. V A wet night and a happy encounter

**Hello to all my readers! I would call this one as a kind of- bit of, comic relief chapter. I wrote it cheer you, andmyself up as well. I will only post this cahappie, beacuse I'm very tired. Today, I've given blood, so now I know how it would feel like, if Dracula drained 4.5 deciliters of blood from me. Weird...**

Later that night, the Sáradi mansion's gatekeeper escorted a lady rider to the equerry. She haltered the horse in the stall herself, both she and her steed were soaking wet after riding in the rainy night. She piled her hair on top of her head, and put her hat on it, to keep it dry. The gatekeeper then showed her to the main entrance of the mansion, and went back to his position. The lady thanked for his help, then used the heavy knocker on the door to make the insiders know about her arrival. A sleepy maid opened the door, and was looking surprised at the wet lady in a hat.

„ Good evening, how can I help you at this late hour?" asked the maid in a sleepy tone.

„ Good evening! I'm looking for Elizabeth Desewffy, I'm her sister, I've mailed her about my arrival already."

„ Oh, you're here so soon?! Wait here, I'll be right back! Oh my God!" exclaimed the maid, and closed the door before Agnes' nose. She didn't know how to react to this at first; going in would be rather impolite, staying outside would mean going on having a shower in the rain.

„ Seesh, that's what I call a warm welcome!" she thought.

Next moment on old man's podgy figure showed up in the door: he was rather short with messed-up grey hair, wearing a blue dressing gown above his pyjamas. He was trying to focus on Agnes' face, but he had a hard time doing it.

„ Good evening miss! Sorry for the inappropriate welcome, but we didn't expect you so soon! I'm Imre, the butler." he said, then started looking for his glasses in his many pockets. Agnes was getting wetter and wetter each moment.

" It's really a pleasure to meet you, and be here and talk to you, but could we just go on with this conversation inside? I think I've swam enough" she said in an ironic tone.

„ Oh, of course, come in miss! I'm sorry!"

„Thank you!" said Agnes, and stepped inside. Imre, was still looking for his glasses, so Agnes decided to drop her bag, and wait what comes next. She was observing the mansion's beautiful hall, which they have just entered, when she noticed that the butler had found his glasses, and was eyeing her thoroughly.

„ Alright, we have the sword, the dark complexion, and she really is not like miss Elizabeth at all, but the hair?.."Imre thought.

„Excuse me miss, would you mind taking off your hat?" he asked

„ Oh, you're right, I'm so rude!" said Agnes, and took off her hat, but her hair stayed on top of it, due to the many hairpins.

„Thank you miss, excuse me, but may I ask, how long you hair is?"

Agnes was looking at him with a confused face.

„ Well, if you insist, it's down to my waist, I will not take the hairpins out of it, if you don't mind. But why do you ask?"

„ Oh, I'm so glad. Actually your sister said that you had long hair, and would never wear it in a short style. So I should not let anybody in with a short hair. She gave me instructions on how to identify you, and this was part of it, and I just wanted to make sure that all was proper with you, sorry if I was rude!" said the butler.

„ Alright, it's fine. I would double-check everybody, whom I let in my house at night! No problem!" she said, trying to be calm and nice, but it cost her some discipline not to burst out laughing.

„Oh my goodness! My sister must be driving the servants mad here! Identify somebody by hair? Oh, my!" she thought, trying to oppress her giggling.

„ And how was your journey miss?' Imre asked trying to start a conversation, but then again he noticed that Agnes was totally wet, and he felt ashamed of himself. Agnes lowered her head to hide her wide smile.

„ Sorry miss, I'm not the best butler at this hour of the day! The room which was meant for you to sleep in, is not ready yet, I will show you to another room, you must be tired. Let me take your luggage!" he said, and grabbed her heavy gripsack. Agnes nodded, put her hat back on, and set off after Imre. But then Elizabeth showed up on top of the stairs in her pink dressing gown, with a candelabrum.

„ Who are you looking for at this time of day, mister?" she asked in a sleepy tone. Agnes smiled as she heard her little sister's voice.

„Well, really Elizabeth, we haven't met for quite a while, but maybe I haven't changed that much!" she said, then took her hat off, and looked at Elizabeth.

„ Agnes!" shouted Elizabeth in joy, and started running down towards her sister. At the bottom of the stairs, she jumped to Agnes hugging her gleefully.

„ I'm sorry, I didn't see your face, I didn't expect you to arrive today!" said Elizabeth as she let her sister go.

„ It's good to see you again! Now, you're at least as wet as I am!" said Agnes, looking at Elizabeth's water-patched dressing- gown „ I arrived to Gyergyószentmiklós little before sunset, and I thought it would be a waste of time to spend the night at an inn! Besides, I wanted to surprise you! But to tell the truth, I didn't count on the rain!" said Agnes, and took off her wet Bocskai-coat. Elizabeth's gaze turned to her sister's sword.

„Wow, this is really yours?" she asked with a surprised face „ You wrote about it, but I never thought it was so beautiful! Do you know how to use it as well?" Elizabeth reached for the catana's grip.

„ I'd rather you didn't touch it Elizabeth, I don't want to be responsible for hurting yourself 10 minutes after I've arrived, with my sword for instance! I will show it to you tomorrow if you really want to see it!"

„ Wow, I really have a fighter-sister!"

„ I needed it, that was all! I got it as a gift from the master. But you look like a real lady now! I remember when I left, you were 15 years old, and struggling with the mysteries of Latin language with Mr Nagy, your teacher."

Elizabeth laughed, and turned around, to show herself to Agnes.

„ I'm pretty, am I not?" she asked in a happy tone. Agnes nodded, while smiling tiredly.

„ Oh, my God, I'm so stupid! You must be very tired! „ said Elizabeth „ Let's talk tomorrow! Come to me, once you wake up! Good night! „ said Elizabeth, then ran up the stairs, and waved to her sister from the balcony. Agnes waved back with a smile, then turned to Imre.

„ You know Imre, I'm not a very good noble lady at this hour of the day, so I will ask you something private. It is not very soothing to see that my sister's character had hardly developed in 3 years! I'm beginning to be worried about this marriage. What is your opinion? Forget about your position for now! I want to know someone's opinion who has seen her a lot recently. I know I can trust you, can't I?"

„ Yes, miss Agnes, if you insist on this, I'll answer. Your sister has a child's spirit in her heart in deed. She has not seen much of life outside the mansion. But Count Sáradi is a very generous and understanding man; there is nothing fro you to worry about. Can I show you to your room?" Imre asked.

„ Thank you for answering, I really appreciate your honesty. Of course, please do so, I assume that you yourself want to get back to your room as well."

„ Thank you for thinking about me miss, come right this way!" said the butler, and set off towards a huge door, with Agnes behind him.

**A footnote to all: I should have mentioned this earlier, but I forgot about it. What I mention as Bocskai-coat, is the type of coat that Dracula wears in the movie. The name refers to the special buttons on it. It was named after a Hungarian historical figure, István (Stephen) Bocskai, who always wore this type of coat. :-)**

**Post reviews plz!**


	6. VI A mansion in the morning

**Hello everyone! Here are two new chapters! This one will be mainly about description of the mansion ( with little action), which will be a scene to lot of events later, so it was really necessary.**

The following morning Agnes woke up quite late; the clock in the corridor had already stricken 11, by the time she got out of bed. She couldn't find her bag or the clothes, which she took off the night before; only a dressing gown lay at the end of her bed. She put it on, and left the room to look for her sister. Stepping out to the corridor she found herself among an army of servants who were running around carrying all sort of things. Agnes tried to ask for directions from them, but they all apologized, then hurried off. Finally one of them told her, that she should be looking for Imre, he is upstairs.

„ Alright." she thought „ If I only got lost in the desert once, a mansion will be no match!"

She set off to the direction where they had come from during the night, and soon reached the magnificent hall. It looked even more beautiful by daylight; two stairs started from next to the door in which she was now standing in, one heading left, and the other right, upwards to the balcony, which was also a part of a long corridor, running along the first floor. Pictures of landscapes and people hung on the wall, the goosenecks were made of delicate burr. Many maids were working studiously; some of them were decorating the walls and windows with flowers, others were cleaning everything up. The fragrant hall laced in beautiful flowers, and bathing in the early afternoon sunlight, was really a sight to the gods. Agnes walked up the stairs, and bumped into Imre.

„ Good morning miss Agnes, I see you woke up!" said the butler in a cheerful tone. Agnes opened her mouth to speak, but Imre was faster.

„ Please come with me, your room is ready now. By your favour, I've already had your bag and clothes taken there."

The butler led Agnes along a long corridor, and finally they stepped into a spacious room. Three of the walls were painted white; the fourth was made up of almost totally windows, just like Elizabeth's room. The windows were framed with white curtains of precious silk, and similar ones hung on the beautifully carved, ebony tent-bed, right from the door. By the left wall of the room was the fireplace, which had already started warming up the cold room. Next to it stood a vanity table, along with a row of cupboards, and a folding-screen in the corner. In the left corner of the room another door led to the bathroom. Next to folding-screen was a large mirror, in the middle of the room stood a table with a few chairs. The walls were decorated with paintings, and after sunset, the room was lighted with candles on a copper chandelier, hanging from above.

„ I hope this room will satisfy all your needs miss. Your sister's room is right next to this. Miss Elizabeth is waiting for you in the dining hall, the first course of the lunch will be served soon."

„ Thank you, Imre, tell Elizabeth that I will be there by noon."

„ Yes miss, I'm glad to have been at your service" said Imre, then backed out of the room, shutting the door.

„ What a lovely room!" thought Agnes, walked to one of the grand windows, and opened them. It was a freshening feeling for her to inhale the crisp October air. She was looking at the mansion's forecourt with the garden, and the forest past the mansions stone fence. The mist-covered mountains made a perfect background to the scenery.

„ Well, Count Sáradi sure knows where to live!" she said to herself.

After a while she started freezing and shut the window. It was then that the clock stuck quarter to twelve.

„I'd better get dressed, I wouldn't want to miss lunch, I'm starving"

She unpacked her clothes to one of the cupboards, her perfumes from the East and toiletries on the vanity table. She put on a dark purple blouse, black skirt, and short-legged boots. She sat down in front of the vanity table, let her hair down, and started brushing it, when somebody knocked on the door.

„ Come in!' answered Agnes, then turned in the direction of the door. A young maid appeared behind the door.

„ Excuse me miss, I was sent to help you get dressed. Can I prepare your corset for you?"

Agnes was smiling at the thin and pale maid who was wringing her hands.

„ It's very nice of you, but as you see, I've dressed already and usually I'm not wearing any corsets, they're not too healthy. I have a few special ones, which I got sewn in Paris, but I can put those on myself, and besides, I only wear them on special occasions. But if you'd like to be of my service, please bring some flowers, and a pot of tea up here before dinner."

„As you wish miss" said the maid, and left. Agnes turned back to the mirror, finished brushing her hair, and put a bit of eyeliner on. Then she set off to look for the dining hall. Finally she was escorted to the wonderfully decorated place by one of the maids. The large dining hall had windows facing westward framed with dark blue curtains, white walls with many paintings and trophies. The never-ending table was in the middle of the room, laid with white tablecloth, and had countless chairs around it. There were fireplaces at both ends of the room, to keep the air warm. The place had 2 doors, one for the guests, and one, which led to the kitchen and scullery. Looking around, Agnes recognized one of the paintings. It was then that Elizabeth, sitting at the other end of the table, noticed her, and started shouting.

„Agnes come here, they're bringing the soup right away!"

Agnes smiled, and walked to the other end of the table, and sat down next to her little sister.

„ I'm glad you woke up, I couldn't wait to see you again, I have so much to say to you! I missed you very much during the last years. I would have needed your advice in many questions, you could have written more often!"

„ Believe me, I couldn't find a post station on every corner! I see you've brought our home here!" she said, and nodded towards one of the paintings on the wall, which depicted the mansion in Nádudvar.

„ Well, yes, it is very important to me, party because of what it depicts, and because it's your work."

„ It's been a long time, I last had a paintbrush in my hand. I missed that very much, along with your cheerfulness! But I need to add, I was hoping that you would become a bit more thoughtful by the time I get back, but I see you haven't changed much!"

„ Oh my, not another lecture on ' It can1t go on like this, you really need to grow up!' „ said Elizabeth, put her palms on her ears, and started wagging her head „ I think I've heard enough of that already!"

„ By all means, don't forget, that I'm not our father, I will not lecture you. All I want is to talk about this, and get to know you again, because I got even less letters from you, than vice versa. But we should talk about this later, I see the soup is here, and I'm starving. Come to think of it, I haven't eaten for a day!" she said, and was looking at the bowl of soup, which the maid held, with glittering eyes.


	7. VII Horseriding and heartache

**Well in this one, you'll find out a bit more about Agnes' past, and present! :-) A marathon-long chapter!**

After lunch Agnes suggested they went horse riding, so Elizabeth sent a word to the equerry to prepare two horses for them. Elizabeth put on a pink frilled dress, elegant shoes, hat and embroidered coat in the same colour, while Agnes kept her purple blouse on, pieced together with black trousers, leather vest, long gloves, and a dark green cape above all these. The two radically different ladies met at the hall, and set out towards the equerry.

„ I see, you still didn't give up your pink-mania." said Agnes on the way.

„ And I see you didn't give up your trousers-mania!" answered Elizabeth in a nippy tone.

„ Some things never change I guess!" said Agnes, as they got to the horses. The two beautiful grey animals were saddled, and stamping about impatiently. Agnes stepped to one of the horses, scratched its ear, and took out some sugar cubes of one of her pockets on her vest. The horse gobbled up the goodies happily.

„ So you love horses even more now, than before you left! „ said Elizabeth as she waved to the stable-boy to help her upon her horse. Agnes looked at the back of her horse, and gave a loud sigh.

„ Elizabeth, would you tell the boy to change this saddle to a normal one?" she said, looking at the sidesaddle on her horse.

„ Well, if you say so!" said Elizabeth, while the boy was giving her the bridle „ Sándor, please change that saddle on the other horse!"

The boy hurried to Agnes' horse, and started to unhitch the strips of the saddle, and started talking to Agnes

„ Excuse me for questioning your will miss, but are you sure you can ride in the other saddle? If you get hurt, I will be blamed, moreover I will be disappointed, and punished by the equerry. I have never seen a lady in trousers, riding a horse in a normal saddle."

„ Alright, no problem, leave it up to me then, and it will not be your responsibility" said Agnes, and unfolded the strips, put the saddle on her shoulder, and walked off towards the equerry. Soon she came back with a normal saddle, put it on her horse, and jumped on its back.

„ Don't worry about me, I'm an experienced rider." said Agnes, smiling at the boy, who was staring at her with wide eyes. Agnes started the horse in a comfortable pace towards the main gates.

„ Will you join me Elizabeth?" asked Agnes her sister, turning back her horse.

„ Right away!" came the reply, and Elizabeth and pattered her horses bottom with the riding whip a bit. The two riders went towards the forest, where most of the trees have taken off their clothes of colourful leaves already. The dead leaves soon started swishing under the hooves of their horses as they adverted to the forest road. They kept the slow pace, and they gradually left the Sáradi- mansion behind them.

„ You sit pretty stiff on the horse." noted Agnes „ And this side-saddle, it is not safe at all!"

„ Don't worry, Ferenc taught me well enough!" replied Elizabeth, smiling.

„ Well, tell me something about Count Ferenc!"

„ Oh, he is a very-very good man!" gushed Elizabeth. Agnes looked at the sky, and rolled her eyes.

„ Thank you, I've heard about that already. But I'm sure you know something else about him, if you'll get married in a few weeks!"

„ Alright, he is very nice, handsome, and he loves me!"

„ And do you love him?" asked Agnes

„ Do I love him? I would die for him!" answered Elizabeth with sparkling eyes. Agnes allowed herself a small smile, then went on.

„ Dying for somebody is a big sacrifice, think of it twice before you say such a thing! But living your entire life with somebody is a real challenge!"

„ I think I would do anything for Ferenc, I can hardly wait for us to begin our lives together!" said Elizabeth enthusiastically. Agnes smiled.

„ Well, I suppose, I won't have to tell you about the birds and bees, will I?" asked Agnes in a comic tone.

„ No, actually you don't have, the gardener back in Nádudvar, has told me all about it!" came the answer, and Elizabeth bolted upright, seeing her sister's surprised face.

„ You mean..?"

„ Yes, I didn't want to get married as a virgin, I thought I would miss something!"

Agnes could not believe her ears.

„ Are you mad?" she exclaimed „ And if you got hurt, or pregnant, or if father found out?"

„ But I was not hurt, and father never found out about it. I hope you will not tell him either!"

„ Of what use it would be now? But if I'm not wrong, I never was the gossipy one from the two of us. But I don't understand you. You wear a cross on your necklace, you went to church with father every Sunday, and prayed each night before going to bed. What made you do this then?"

„ Well, God has forgiven me for my curiosity already, I told all the prayers, and regretted it a little bit as well. God forgives everything."

„ You know that since mother's death I don't believe in God, I've denied him, never say prayers, but I still have morals."

„ And you say you think liberally!" blazed Elizabeth up „ Don't tell me you have never been together with anyone during those 3 years! Do you even know anything about love?"

„ If you want to know...." started Agnes, then her voice faltered, and sadness appeared in her eyes.

„ Sorry, I didn't want to be so coarse with you. But I find it strange that you don't understand me." said Elizabeth, then paused for a while „ Come on, let's head home, it gets dark early at this time of the year!"

Agnes nodded, then they both turned their horses around.

„ But will you tell your story to your silly little sister anyway?" asked Elizabeth diffidently. Agnes turned towards her sister with a smile on hr face, and wiped off a few tears.

„ It is a sad story, you sure you want to hear it?"

„ I want to know everything about you, don't keep a secret from me, please. I might even be able to help you!" answered Elizabeth enthusiastically. Agnes was smiling sadly, and started talking.

„ This time about 2 years ago, we were in Arabia with the master. We were right in the middle of and unlucky period, and to make things worse, we got lost in the desert. We almost died of thirst, when we ran into a sheik's caravan. He was outmost genial towards us; we got food and water from him, and travelled along with him towards Damascus. It was then that I met the sheik's son, Aziz." said Agnes, and gave a loud sigh „ He was the most handsome man, whom I have ever met in my entire life. His skin was the colour of cinnamon, had dark brown eyes, and black hair. He wore the conventional clothes of the Arabic people: white caftan with a turban, and had a magnificent white horse. We didn't even get to Damascus, when Aziz and I were in love already. I got beautiful clothes, jewels and fabrics from him, but he never even touched me."

„ How come? Not even a kiss? „ asked Elizabeth with a surprised face. Agnes gave a cheerful laugh, and thought happily about these times.

„ No, as I said, not with a single finger! According to his religion, his wife must be the first woman he touches. If he does differently, he will never enter the heavenly kingdom of their god, whom they call Allah."

„ Geez!" said Elizabeth.

„ So he proposed me, and I accepted it happily. But in their culture they have to ask for the fianc's father's blessing upon the marriage, so Aziz did the necessary preparations for us to set off to Hungary, along with the master. Before we left I got a beautiful stallion from the sheik; his hair was black as the desert night, and his mane glimmered in the sunlight. I named him 'Midnight' and never had a better horse ever since."

„ And why exactly Midnight?" asked Elizabeth curiously.

„ Because I first rode him at midnight, and he loved it! He was the best to ride after the clock struck midnight."

„ And what happened to the horse? I see you didn't come here with him!"

„ We had to sell him once, as we were out of money. Nobody wanted to buy the master's horse, but we could sell Midnight for quite a lot of money. I felt my heart would break as they took him away!"

„ Tell me, why was this Aziz so special?" asked Elizabeth.

„ Because he offered me freedom and respect, what I would never have got form a European nobleman. He didn't want to be a lord over me, and accepted me the way I was." aid Agnes, and turned silent. It was strange for her to talk about Aziz; she never mentioned him to anybody before.

„ What happened after you had set off?"

„ We never got to Hungary. Aziz led us through the desert, northwards, to the Turkish Empire. We were attacked by Bedouins among the hills of Anatolia. There were just too many of them, and I couldn't protect Aziz!"

„ Wasn't he supposed to protect you?" asked Elizabeth.

„ But that's exactly what he did! I couldn't wield the sword so good back then, and he sent me away, to protect me!" said Agnes; the tears were flowing from her eyes by this time.

„ I still have the horrible pictures of that night playing in front of my eyes, whenever I think of this! The sound of the blades pressing against each other, the nervous whickering of the horses. The desperate voice of Aziz, and his gaze when he tells me to ride off, and never look back. The sound of Midnight's hooves echoed in my ears as I was riding alone until dawn. He saved my life, and I couldn't even say goodbye to him!" Agnes was sobbing very hard; Elizabeth had never seen her sister so broken before. Agnes' tears eventually dried, and she went on talking.

„ I was wandering on the edge of the desert alone, not even knowing where I was. The master found me just in time to save me. The bandits left him alive, because killing yellow men meant a curse to their family. After this I have lived as a ghost for months, I would have been taken over by grief, were it not for the master."

Elizabeth was glad that Agnes had calmed down, and the serenity, which Elizabeth was very much used to, came back to her voice.

„ It was then that I swore, that I will let nobody whom I love die, because I was not alert or strong enough. I began hard training with the master afterwards, I can protect those whom I love, from almost everybody now."

They rode in quiet for a while, and then Elizabeth piped up.

„ And you think you won't be able to love anyone else?"

„ Losing a fiancé, is more than staggering; only a few moths separated us from binding our lives together forever. I know I cannot go on mourning for the rest of my life, but I haven't found anyone whom I could trust yet. But don't worry about me!" smiled Agnes „ I will get along somehow."

„ There are good men here too, my fiancé for instance! He offers me freedom, gives me respect, and cares about my feelings." said Elizabeth joyfully.

„ Offers you freedom? I will take a look at that that myself! You know I don't want to be one of the bored ladies in the parlours!" she said „ But you're right, we were supposed to be talking about you and you your fiancé not about me again. I wanted to question you about Ferenc." noted Agnes, as they were approaching the Sáradi mansion's gates.

„ Well, you'll have the opportunity to meet him soon. At tonight's ball for example!"

„ How come? A ball? You never mentioned that until now! I don't even have a proper dress, or shoes, moreover...-" Elizabeth but in.

„ I have taken care of everything already. I had a gown sewn for you, I hope you will like it!" laughed Elizabeth.

„ I assume, that father was your pander in doing this!" said Agnes „ Otherwise how would you have found out my proportions!"

„ Yes, he really helped out. But if you knew about it, the surprise would have been spoiled. The guests will be here by 7, Ferenc will come too, along with his cousins, and a few more people. Tell me you will come!"

„ It is really nice of you, of course I will come! If you took all the trouble of having sewn a gown just for me, the least I can do is put it on, and join you!" said Agnes in a happy tone. They were already close to the high stone fence of the mansion, when a strange sound came to Agnes' ears. The sound became louder and louder, and the source of it was apparently the forecourt of the mansion. The loud whickering of a horse disturbed the silence, and it was too familiar to Agnes.

„It can't be" she stammered „ How would he get here anyway?" she asked from herself loudly.

„ Who?" asked Elizabeth curiously.

Agnes didn't answer, but spurred her horse, and rode off towards the gates in a crazy zest.

„ Why are you in such a hurry? Wait for me!" shouted Elizabeth after her sister.

„ You'll catch up, we'll meet in the forecourt!" shouted Agnes back, and disappeared from Elizabeth's sight with her hair and cloak flying behind her.

**So, how did you like it? Review plz! It would be very encouraging! Thanks!**


	8. VIII Midnight and the Sáradi cousins

**Dear readers! These are the two new chappiesI have, with a little shot of Dracula! He will be taking more part of the story just a few chapters from now!**

**to the Widow Dracula: I'm sorry, I could only post these 2 at the end, I couldn't finish teh third one, I'm too tired! get back to me about them!**

It was not much earlier, as Count Ferenc Sáradi's coach got round the mansion's gates to the surfaced forecourt. The light brown-haired, moustached young man's dark blue eyes raked the estate, which was so dear to him, thoroughly from the window of the coach. Count Sáradi had his two younger cousins with him, as company; the 23-year-old Richard, who spent his days seducing young women, and mostly doing nothing. He looked quite handsome actually; he had brown eyes, a goatee, and his dark brown hair was a bit longer than average, which made him special in the eyes of women. But his soul was empty, and his nature was disputatious and offensive. The third passenger of the coach was Richard's 15-year-old brother, Marton. He had blue eyes and short light brown hair just like his elder cousin, but his moustache just began to grow. He was an exceptionally clever boy, who was enthusiastic about medicine and healing, and read a lot. All three of them were dressed in delicate suits to make a good impression on the mansion's ladies. As the couch was about to stop in front of the main entrance, Ferenc noticed one of his stablemen as he was holding the bridle of a black horse, and trying to rebuke it with a flog. But the splendid animal just kept on whickering and prancing.

„ Uncle, does he have to beat that animal that hard?" asked Marton in a sceptic tone.

„ Well, I've always known that stableman for his aggressive behaviour, but I have never seen him treating any horse in this ill manner!" replied Count Ferenc „We'll talk to him right away!"

The flog was clashing hardly on the animal's skin.

„Calm down, for bloody hell, you beast!" shouted the stableman. Ferenc and his cousins got off from the coach and started towards the stableman. At that moment a rider showed up at the gates, approaching in a rapid tempo. Richard turned to his uncle:

„ Who in your household can ride a horse so well? Where do the servants learn such a thing?"

„It might be the new stable boy, whom the butler brought here a few weeks ago!" came the reply from the count. Getting closer, the rider's from became more distinct.

„And since when do servants have long hair, and wear cloaks?" asked Richard in a satirical tone, then all three men's gaze got fixed on the rider. The young woman stopped her horse not so far from the stableman, who was concentrating totally on beating the black animal, and taking no notice of the people around him. She jumped off the horse angrily, and started running towards the stableman, without even seeing the three men observing her from nearby.

„ Who could this lady be?" thought Count Ferenc.

The lady jumped between the stableman and the black horse just in time to save the animal form another strike. The flog coiled on her high-held begloved wrist instead. The stableman was surprised when the lady pulled the flog from his hand with such a strength that he almost fell over. Fury was boiling in her eyes, as she tossed the flog aside.

„Touch my horse once more, and I swear I'll break your arm!" she exclaimed assertively „ You behold yourself a stableman? You have no idea of how to treat horses at all! Now get out of here!" she said in a cold tone. The stableman edged off as quietly as he could. The lady started smiling, and turned to the horse, without taking notice of the three men standing agape. She hugged the animal's neck, and scratched his ear.

„ Midnight! I can't believe you came back to me!" she whispered, while burying her face in the horse's mane, and patting his back. The count gave a cough, while moving closer, to draw the lady's attention. The woman looked up suddenly, and started eyeing the count up and down.

„ Good day miss, welcome to my estate! I'm Count Ferenc Sáradi, may I ask who you are?" asked the count politely. The lady gave a smile, took her glove off, and gave her hand to the count.

„ I could hardly wait to meet you Count Sáradi! I'm Agnes Desewffy!"

The count kissed Agnes' hand, but was not able to hide his surprise. Agnes kept on smiling. It was then that Elizabeth arrived and got off her horse in a clumsy manner.

„Ferenc, I'm so happy to see you!" hurried Elizabeth to her love, and hugged him. „ I see you have met my sister already!"

„ Yes, I have." said Count Ferenc, as he and his cousins were eyeing Agnes curiously.

„ Whose is this black horse?" asked Elizabeth. The reply came form Agnes.

„ Let me introduce Midnight to you Elizabeth! Say hello, Midnight!" she said, and patted the horse's neck. Midnight got down on his knees gently, bowed his head, and rose after a while.

„ What are these cuts on him?" Elizabeth asked, pointed to the wounds on the animal's body.

„Those were caused by a dilettante stableman." said Agnes then turned to Ferenc „ I apologise if I hurt you with this, but I suggest you removed this man from your household. I would never entrust him my horses." Agnes jumped on Midnight's back. „ Now, if you excuse me, I will halter Midnight into the stall, and heal his wounds. I will introduce myself to the others as well, later." she finished, then looked at Richard and Marton.

„ Of course, Miss Agnes, but the stable boy can take care of this as well, if you wish!" said Count Ferenc.

„ Thank you, I will settle everything with him personally. Alright, then later. Elizabeth, gentlemen." said Agnes, and nodded, then rode off in a calm tempo. Ferenc was looking at Agnes for a time, then turned to Elizabeth:

„Well, my dear, I have to admit that I imagined your sister to be somewhat like this, but seeing her stand the strike of a flog just to save her horse, was a rather different experience!"

„See, I told you, you will be surprised!" smiled Elizabeth.

„Tell me Miss Elizabeth, how old is your sister?" asked Richard. Count Ferenc knew his cousin too well, and he prevented his further questions.

„Please Richard, would you just put your Don Juan manner aside for tonight, and not to behave foolishly!" said Ferenc, and went on a bit later „ I suggest we went inside, it is getting colder out here each minute!" he said, then offered his arm to Elizabeth, who accepted happily, and all set off towards the fancy main entrance.

Much later in the evening Elizabeth knocked on her sister's door, along with Julia and a few tire-women.

„ Come in!" came the reply form inside. Three maids were carrying the satin night-blue dress and its accessories. But the dress' owner seemed to have forgot about the ball, which was to start in a few hours. To everyone's surprise she was sitting by the table in a mere shirt, cleaning her sword and daggers. Elizabeth stamped her foot indignantly.

„This just cannot be true! The ball will begin in just hours, and you're sitting here, being preoccupied with your arsenal!"

Agnes smiled, finished her work, and put her weapons away.

„ Now, how hot-headed you are!" she noted, then stepped to her little sister „ You're only 18 years old, you didn't miss anything yet! Why is the hurry then?" asked Agnes with a provocative smile on her face.

„ Yes, that's true, but you're 20 already, and you haven't even tried your beautiful new dress on!" stroke Elizabeth back. Agnes was looking at her sister lovingly, as Elizabeth was standing with arms akimbo, trying to look serious.

„Oh, let me introduce you to my lady-companion! This is Julia!" said Elizabeth.

The thin, grey-eyed woman stepped forth to Agnes. She was wearing a simple apple-green dress with a white collar.

„ Agnes Desewffy, glad to have met you!" nodded Agnes.

„ Julia Hadfalvi, at your service, miss!" bowed Julia her head „ You will come to the ball, won't you miss?" Everybody is so curious about you!"

„ Are they?" asked Agnes, raising her eyebrow, and looking at her sister.

„ Yes, I have rung it in to everyone already! Please tell me you will come!"

„ I have told you, that I wouldn't miss this ball for the world! I have always loved balls, you know that! I have a passion for music and dancing!"

„ You probably didn't go to many balls in the past years! But now!"

„ You're really a ball heroine" laughed Agnes "But don't think I have missed balls! I took part in balls at the English royal court, a French mansion, and an Italian villa.. And they were all fun! So ladies," turned Agnes to the tire-women „ will you help me put this lovely dress on? I see it has a corset in it as well."

„ Sorry, father didn't mention that you don't wear corsets!"

The tire-women and Agnes went behind the folding-screen, and Elizabeth turned to Julia.

„ Well, what do you think of her?"

„ Well, she is not like anyone else I know, but I must admit she is very beautiful! Probably all the men will like her at the ball! Come to think of it, are you not nervous about the intentions of young Lord Richard?" asked Julia with worrying eyes. Elizabeth smiled.

„ Yes, I'm worried about Richard, but rather himself, not his intentions. He should look out for himself, if he wants something with my sister! Hardly anyone can deceive her! Moreover he can prepare for a lost battle of words! I have never met anyone more sharp-tongued than my sister. She is even worse since she came back! And Richard does not like smart women, like Agnes!"

„ It is not a very polite thing to talk about somebody behind his back!" came Agnes' voice form behind the folding-screen, and her tall figure appeared soon as well. The night-blue dress with white silk-flowers by its shoulders and short black gloves made of lace, really matched Agnes. Her hair went down to her waist in smooth waves, but Elizabeth was already racking her brain on how to pile it on top of Agnes' head.

„ This gown is really beautiful, I see you have a good taste Elizabeth. Thank you very much for this gift! Although the gloves could have been a little longer!"

Elizabeth looked at her sister's arm curiously, and noticed the scars on both of Agnes' wrists. She tried to hide her consternation.

„ Well, really, it was nothing..." stammered Elizabeth „ I want to thank you for returning home!"

„ Don't think that I came to visit you without bringing anything! I almost forgot to give it to you!"

said Ages, walked to one of the cupboards, and took out something wrapped in paper. She put it on the table, and started unwrapping it. Julia and Elizabeth stepped closer with curious eyes. A beautifully embroidered silk scarf and a book turned up from the package. Agnes gave both of them to her sister.

„ They're yours! I got both in Syria. I had to fight with the previous owner of the book, he said he wouldn't sell it to just anyone!"

Elizabeth took a look at the silk scarf at first, and then took the leather-covered book in her hand. She discovered a wonderful world between the two covers: the book was full of crooked Arabic letters, along with amazingly drawn pictures on every second page. Behind the last page, Elizabeth found the Hungarian translation written on small papers with Agnes' small letters.

„ 'Tales from the Arabian Nights' „ Elizabeth read it out loud" This is really wonderful! You're the best sitter in the world!" she said, and hugged Agnes" I will read it tonight"

„ And what about the ball?"

„ You're right, I almost forgot about that! I have to get prepared too! The dress will be fine for you, won't it?" asked Elizabeth, but Agnes saw that her thoughts were running on something else by that time.

„ Yes, it is just perfect, along with the shoes!" she said, and looked at the dark-blue shoes near the table. Elizabeth's enthusiasm affected the maids as well, and they all started talking about something.

„ Alright, we'll meet at the ball then!" said Elizabeth and started towards the door, along with Julia and the maids.

„ Goodbye miss!" they all said, as the noisy little group left Agnes' room.

„ My flighty little sister" thought Agnes as she watched Elizabeth disappear outside. Then as she was alone she started looking for a suitable glove among her gear.


	9. IX The importance of gloves and dinner

Few hours later the guests showed up at the Sáradi mansion as well. They came with elegant chaises, the ladies parading in colourful gowns, the gentlemen in tuxedos. They were welcomed by the butler, and Count Sáradi along with Elizabeth, and his cousins, Marton and Richard. All the guests were escorted to the decorated dining hall, to the long table laid with porcelain plates and silverware. Many people came, and the formerly quiet mansion became loud with laughter and chatting, and filled with the scent of ladies' perfume.

Count Dracula was eyeing the events from his castle, in his large mirror, when Igor crippled behind him.

„ Master, the demons are about to wake up any minute! Why don't we have them crush this little party?" Igor asked with an evil smile.

„ It would definitely be fun, but not now, Igor. We don't want to draw their attention. Hopefully my existence has been forgotten in a hundred years, and now it is only up to me when I want the mortals to find out about my presence again. No, we'll leave them alone for now, and strike after all have left, and our little Elizabeth is in bed." said Dracula wit an evil smirk on his face „ I will have her in my arms by morning. It is a real pity I cannot get her myself, but I cannot enter no house without being invited!" Dracula made a pitying face „ That idiotic Sáradi has no idea whose company his guests miss!" he said, and the pity turned into and egoistic laughter.

„ Let me know when the demons awake, Igor! I shall retire to my chambers for now!" he said, and left the room, changing into his bat form.

Agnes was alone in her room in the Sáradi mansion, looking at the arriving guests and the darkening sky from the window. The face of the Moon was covered by heavy clouds, the night was promising a rain. As the clock struck half past seven, somebody knocked at her door.

„ Come in!" she answered without turning her gaze from the window. Elizabeth stepped inside, wearing a gown in the colour of yellow roses, decorated with pearls. She noticed with surprise that only the fireplace gave a little light to the room, and Agnes' silhouette was hardly noticeable by the window.

„ What are you doing here in the dark alone?" she asked, and lit some of the candles on the table.

„ I was just thinking. And the feeling was more comfortable this way!" answered Agnes, turning to her sister.

„ Well, it's you business, I'm really ashamed of it, but I'm still afraid in the dark!" said Elizabeth „ Actually I came to get you down to the dining hall, dinner will be served any minute!" Elizabeth paused for a while „ But now I have to ask you about those scars on your wrist! I saw them in the afternoon! How did those get there? Who hurt you?" she asked.

„ I made them." answered Agnes, turning back to the widow.

„ After Aziz's death?" asked Elizabeth. Agnes nodded.

„ Now I see what you meant by the master arriving just in time to save you! How could you have done that?" asked Elizabeth demandingly, but didn't get any answer. Heavy quiet settled upon the room. Elizabeth continued after a while „ I'm really sorry Agnes!"

„ It's not your fault, and the wounds have healed long ago. But I will always have to wear gloves, and face my failure whenever I look at them. But this is not your problem, forget about it!" said Agnes, turned back from the window, and hugged her sister.

„ This is your evening Elizabeth, I don't want you to think of what happened to me, you should have fun! Let's get going!" said Agnes, and set off to the door. She turned back to Elizabeth before going outside to the corridor.

„ Just one more question, it is really important! The guests, who are here, do they know about me? What did you tell them?"

„ Well, most of them know everything! I told them all about the places you have been. I even showed few of your letters to my friends as well!" answered Elizabeth cheerfully.

„ That's exactly what I was afraid of!" said Agnes quietly under her nose „ Alright, let's get going. The people are probably waiting for us!"

Few minutes later, they entered the dining hall, which was swimming in the light of many candles. By the long table, at which only the sisters sat at noon, about 70 people were sitting at that moment. They all were having conversations among each other, making such a noise that they couldn't even hear themselves. Count Sáradi and presided at the other end of the table, with two empty chairs to his left. Elizabeth and Agnes flit towards their places behind the guests. Ferenc stood up as he noticed the two ladies, and patted his glass with a spoon. The crystal gave a tinkling sound, which drew the guests' attention. All gazes became fixed on the count, and Agnes and Elizabeth standing beside him. Ferenc took Elizabeth's hand.

„ My dear relatives, friends, guests! All of you present here know my charming fiancé Elizabeth Desewffy." he said, and turned to Elizabeth who bowed her head to the crowd. Ferenc went on

„ But none of you have met the beautiful Agnes Desewffy, the sister of my fiancé yet. It is my pleasure to introduce you to my future sister-in-law!"

„ Sister-in-law, oh my goodness!" Agnes thought, as she bowed her head politely, but noticed that some of the guests have started whispering already.

„ Then let's see the delicious dinner!" sounded the voice of Ferenc again „ Bon apetit to all of you!" he said, and then all three sat down. Agnes got a place between Richard and Elizabeth, and the young spark turned to her right away.

„ Oh, I'm so glad to have met you miss! I'm Richard Sáradi!" he said, and kissed Agnes' hand. Agnes recognized the young man, whom she had seen with Ferenc in the afternoon, and his concupiscent gaze caught her eye as well.

„ My pleasure, mister, I'm Agnes Desewffy!" answered Agnes laconically „ But I believe that I have met the young man next to you, and I owe him an introduction as well!"

Richard was surprised, as he had to lean back a bit, for Agnes to see his brother. Young Marton was more than happy that such a lovely lady remembered him.

„ I'm Marton Sáradi, it's really a pleasure to meet you miss!" said the boy with sparkling eyes. Agnes saw the signs of respect and good manner in his gestures and eyes, which Richard seemed to have lacked. The kissing of Agnes' hand didn't come into question because of the distance, but Marton was hoping to have the chance of get to know Agnes better that evening. During dinner Agnes had to listen to Richard's poorly performed platonics and courting. She tried to start a conversation with her sister occasionally, but it was useless, for Elizabeth was only preoccupied with her fiancé. After dinner the guests all went over to the ballroom. The grand room was situated in the East wing of the mansion, and Agnes had walk along the long corridors hooked on Richard. But as soon as they entered the lavishly decorated ballroom, which was noisy with the tuning of the orchestra, she left Richard high and dry to look for other company. Finally Elizabeth found her, and led her to a table, which had tonics on it.

Footnote: I read that Dracula could enter no house without being invited in by one of the residents, that is why I made him say what he said.

**Review plz! Thank you for reading!**


	10. X Dancing with two cousins

**Well, these are two new chappies here! I'm not telling anything about them, read and (hopefully) enjoy!**

„I forgot to ask earlier, how did Midnight get here?" turned Elizabeth to Agnes

„ I got a letter from the master along with him. He went on with his journeys, and found Midnight. He wrote it is a gift for my birthday, and thanked for helping him out during the past years. He knows what a close friend Midnight is to me. It was nice of him"

„ I wish I got a horse for my birthday once. And the ball? Are you having fun so far?" asked Elizabeth

„ This love lace named Richard is just simply unbearable! I'm tied to my manners, that is the only reason I didn't...ah, forget it, I will not upset myself with this! I only want to dance with somebody finally!"

„ Then may I have the pleasure of being the first to dance with you?" sounded a nice voice from behind Agnes' back. She turned around and looked surprised at Ferenc Sáradi, and then she started smiling.

„Of course!" she said, and held her hand out to Ferenc. Elizabeth bursted out in surprise.

„But Ferenc! What about me? You always have me to dance with you first!"

„ Well, maybe we can make an exception this time I think!" answered Ferenc with a smile.

„You're not jealous, are you?" asked Agnes in a jovial tone, smiling oh her sister's embarrassment, while letting Ferenc lead her to the dance floor. The orchestra started playing a cheerful and melodious music just as Agnes and Ferenc disappeared among the other couples. Ferenc was the first to speak as they started dancing to the tinkling music.

„ I'm glad to have you as a guest in my summer mansion Miss Agnes!"

„ And I'm glad to be here. I would like to apologise for the afternoon events at the forecourt. I really have nothing to do with what servants you have in your household. But that man really upset me."

„ There's no need for you to apologise, I knew about the stableman's bad nature, and I promised him to send him away if he does anything. But you were behaving very bravely! Few people would go that far for a horse!"

„ He is not just a horse, Midnight is my horse. He has been my friend and loyal companion in many perilous situations!"

„ Really? Tell me something about those! Tell me about your adventures!"

„ At an other time perhaps, this moment is not too suitable!" she said, as they were moving on the dance floor as softly as if they were sailing on water. They didn't talk for a while, but then Agnes' voice broke the even flow of the music.

„ But I would like to ask a few questions if you don't mind!"

„ Of course, I will answer all that I can!" answered Ferenc in a cheerful tone.

„ Tell me, why do you want to marry my sister?" Ferenc was more than surprised by the question, but looking in Agnes' eyes, he decided to answer it

„Look at your sister Miss Agnes!" he said, and turned his gaze towards Elizabeth, who was sitting on a chair by the edge of the dance floor „ She is of pure love, and innocence, and deserves to be loved."

Agnes was looking sceptically at Ferenc, but she didn't want to give away her sister's secret, especially to her fiancé.

„ I admit she is rather immature yet, but also taintless. And she is loving me for me. But I'm sure you know that. It is hard to find a decent and caring lady these days"

Agnes was smiling upon hearing the answer, and she acknowledged that Count Ferenc was really as good as he was said to be.

„ I appreciate and respect your honesty!" said Agnes after a while.

„ You see right through me, miss, I know that well. I have never met anyone with a gaze like yours before, all efforts to deceive you would have been made in vain!"

„ You dance very well dear Count! My sister is a lucky girl!"

„ Because of dancing?" asked Ferenc ironically.

„ Not only because of that, you know as well. I had to find out to whom our father wants to marry Elizabeth!"

„ And did I prove to be a suitable husband for her?"

„ Well, I'm still dancing here with you in your mansion, am I not?"

„ Yes you are!"

„ Were you not an honest man, I would have set off home with Elizabeth long ago!"

„ I respect your honesty miss!" said Ferenc as the music died, and led Agnes back to where Elizabeth was still sitting on a chair, sulking.

„ Thank you for the dance, miss!" said Ferenc, and they both bowed their heads. The orchestra started playing the Viennese waltz, and Ferenc turned to Elizabeth.

„ Please don't feel resentful my darling, let me have this dance! I would be very disappointed if I had to dance waltz with somebody else!"

Elizabeth started smiling widely, sprang up form her chair, and hugged Ferenc.

„ I should love to!".

Agnes sat down with a drink as she was watching Elizabeth and Ferenc dance. Deep inside she envied her sister a bit.

„ All is so simple in Elizabeth's world!" Agnes thought, „ She has not the slightest hint, that it could have happened differently! I wish I knew as little of sorrow as she does!"

Much later and after having danced with many people, Agnes sat down happily to a chair to have some rest. The orchestra had a little break as well, so only the chatter of the guests could be heard in the ballroom. Agnes could hear the huge grandfather clock on the corridor strike half past ten.

„ Time flies when you're having fun!" she thought, and then noticed Richard approaching.

„ Please everything but this sick-head!" she looked around in despair and saw Marton sitting nearby, and eyeing her diffidently. Agnes nodded her head to the boy to come closer, who by that time was red with embarrassment. Marton stood up, and got to Agnes few seconds before Richard. The latter, ignoring his brother completely, greeted Agnes in an affable tone.

„ I'm glad to see you again my lady! May I have the pleasure of being the next to dance with you?"

He bowed a little, and held out his hand to the lady, still sitting on her chair. The thought of Richard touching her, gave Agnes the creeps. She answered in a derisive voice

„ I'M so sorry dear mister, but I have promised to dance with somebody else already!" she said, and looked at Marton.

„ Yes, the lady is dancing with me Richard!" said Marton timidly, held out his hand to Agnes, who put her hand into his while smiling gladly. Richard, who was left on the shelf, was looking at his younger brother menacingly.

„ We'll get square for this little bro!" he hissed.

Marton humped his shoulders, as if that saved him from his brother's anger. But he was not the only one who has heard Richard's threatening comment. Agnes turned her head around and looked at Richard with furious eyes. The latter couldn't stand it too long; he turned around to the table for a drink instead. The young man led Agnes to the dance floor happily. Marton was shorter than Agnes, and his lighter complexion and white tuxedo against Agnes' dark gown and complexion was really a sight to remember.

„ Thank you for helping me" started Agnes the conversation „ I really owe you a favour! Sorry for telling you this, but I think your brother is a featherbrained loon! I just couldn't have danced with him!"

„ Unfortunately Richard is really rather intrusive and mindless, he tries to turn all the girls' heads! I feel pity for those who have become his victims so far. I'm glad you haven't ended up as one of them!"

„ Actually he was not the first man of this kind whom I bumped into, I knew what to expect, but I didn't want to take him to task for this!"

„ Well I think somebody really should! He will be mad at me I'm sure, but it doesn't matter! This dance is worth all the trouble!" he said in an ironic tone, and then they remained silent for a while, just dancing.

„ You're not like your brother at all." said Agnes while smiling at Marton „ You're good to chat with, seem educated and cultured despite your young age. This is respectable!"

„ Thank you Miss Agnes, I will be a doctor one day! I already work as an apprentice by a doctor, and I know some important things already."

„ It is a noble profession, and honourable too. I have dealt with this as well, although mostly with oriental therapies and medicine, not the kind that is mentioned in the books here!"

„Interesting, you could share your experience with me, if it is not a charge for you!"

„ Definitely not. Perhaps tomorrow, some time in the afternoon, by a cup of tea." said Agnes as the music died, and they let each other go. Suddenly Elizabeth emerged from the crowd of couples who had just stopped dancing, with a short and bearded man following her.

„ Get ready to smile you two!" she said happily. The man behind her put his strange machine on a trestle down, and put some kind of powder in a metal holder. He hid behind a black cloak, and within a few seconds both Agnes and Marton were blinded by a flash.

„ Was this that, what is it called, photo-something?" asked Agnes after recovering her sight.

„ Yes, this is Mr Wurzenberg form Germany, he is making photos of all the guests I tell him to. It was Ferenc's gift for this evening, isn't he nice?" she asked with a wide smile.

„ We have to be going now, we still got a lot of people to catch!" see you later. The man with the camera bowed his head, and set off after Elizabeth.

„ She is full of surprises!" noted Marton „ Well, thank you for the dance Miss Agnes, send for me tomorrow if you wish to see me!" he said, kissed Agnes' hand, and left towards the entrance of the ballroom, trying to avoid meeting Richard. Agnes fetched a soda for herself, and found a spot next to a curtain, near the French windows of the balcony, from where she could get enough fresh air without catching a cold. As she was standing by herself, she overheard somebody on the balcony mentioning her name.


	11. XI Nosy people

„ She might be very estimable as a human being, honourable, brave, generous, but she is not a woman. She does not fulfil one condition of womanhood; she could not fulfil her duties in the society. Which man would prefer a woman who has been travelling across Europe and Arabia with an unknown man, to the simple and delicate ladies who spend their time playing the piano or painting! Who would want a woman who is wearing high-heeled boots, trousers, dark make-up, and wields a sword?" stopped the young man for a while. Agnes was looking at him with anger, peeking out from behind the curtain. He was standing on the balcony, leaning against the handrail. He had a particularly ugly face with a huge nose and hard gaze. He was talking to an elegantly dressed elderly man, who had softer features with his brown eyes, and grey hair and full-beard. They were both dressed elegantly.

„ Do not be so harsh in judging her son. She is an educated lady, who can behave well, as you have seen. And not to mention she is very beautiful." said the grey-bearded man quietly.

„ I am not blinded by her beauty father, like all people are! She is an immoral woman, and I will talk to Count Sáradi to ban his fiancé from seeing her sister, before she affects Miss Elizabeth's thinking. God save us from the kind of Agnes Desewffys! I'm telling you father, they ruined the bloodline with her grandmother, that woman named Gabriella! Nobody knew anything about her origin!"

Agnes was boiling with fury upon hearing this. She stepped out from behind the curtain, and walked up to the men.

„ Good evening gentlemen!" she greeted them politely, and then turned to the younger man politely, who was making a surprised face.

„ May I ask you just how dare you talk about my grandmother like that? I can put up with what you say about me, but she is dead long ago for Heaven's sake! Why can't you just let her rest in peace!?" asked Agnes in an irritated voice.

„ Excuse me young miss, but you should be thinking about your own morals first!" came the indignant answer from the huge-nosed man „ It is very impolite to eavesdrop on somebody else's conversation!" he said, and raised his head. Agnes narrowed her eyes.

„No, you excuse me, but you were talking so loud, only the deaf would not have been able to hear it clearly! And if I'm not wrong, it is also rather impolite to bad-mouth a lady!"

„ You just think too much about yourself young miss! Maybe we had a reason to..."

„ Please son, finish this, don't hurt the lady's feelings." interrupted the old man, and then turned to Agnes „ Please miss, forgive him, he just doesn't know what he is talking about!" said the old man, trying to smooth the problem.

„ Oh yes, I know what I'm talking about!" exclaimed the big-nosed man „ You are an immoral woman, and do not belong here!" he exclaimed „ Can you not see that you might ruin your sister's manners and reputation!"

„ Alright:" said Agnes calmly „ I will leave now, I have heard enough for one day already! Forgive me for standing up for myself, and not letting evil to be spoken of me! But the matter is not settled yet." she bowed her head to the old man, and looked at the huge-nosed man with anger and disgust, and left to get back to the ballroom.

„ Are you happy now with what you had done?" asked the old man.

„ I haven't done anything unusual, I was trying to teach her some manners, and humbleness towards men. And telling somebody the truth might hurt, you know!" he said in a cheerful tone. Agnes turned around upon hearing this.

„ Oh, yeah, you're right, and lying hurts even more!" she said, and set off again. The huge-nosed man's nose was red with anger, and hurried of after Agnes, who has reached the ballroom already. The orchestra had just stopped playing, so everybody could hear what he shouted after Agnes, who was about to leave.

„ Would you get back here for a word missy? Did you just say I was lying?" he said, and seeing Agnes stop, he went on „ Well, then what about settling this in the way you refer so much to any others?" his words echoed in the high room, and all the guests became quiet. Agnes turned around, and the others let her walk back to the ugly-faced, large-nosed man.

„ So you mean to say you want to fight a duel with me?" she asked, and paused for a while. Everybody in the room was listening to their conversation, including Fervency Sardis, who was eyeing the events from one of the corners.

„ And you regard me as immoral? You are a man, and you ask a lady for a duel?"

„ Well, you're not a real lady, we all know that! Many people have seen you wearing trousers! Let the best win!" said the man in a brash tone

„ Son, what are you doing, you're humiliating yourself in front of everybody!" came the low voice of the grey-haired old man, from behind the big-nosed man's back, but the latter took no notice of it. Agnes way looking at the man thoroughly then narrowed her eyes.

„ You know, I think you're a coward!" she spat „ So just let us suppose you won the duel, could you kill me?" the huge-nosed man was starting to feel uncomfortable in the situation now.

„ You think you're brave, you have your noble name, and think can do anything! The thought of killing an immoral woman, like me, sounded luring, didn't it? As long as it was a thought. Tell me mister, have you ever killed anyone?" Agnes asked, and stopped talking. The room was so quiet the buzzing of a fly could have been heard. Agnes went on with a cold voice.

„ Have you looked them in the eye, as they were holding their last breath? When death's grasp tightens around them more and more? Well I have. And believe me, there is nothing grand or majestic about it! Think about the consequences before you say something mister." The huge-nosed man was standing in front of Agnes, in the most degrading situation of his life.

„ You know, I would as soon draw a sword because of you, as the king would march his army against a colony of ants!" Agnes turned on her heels, and set off to leave the room. Before disappearing in the corridor, she turned back

„ I kindly apologise to all the guests here for the previous scene in the name of the gentleman as well. Good night ladies and gentlemen!" she said, and left the room

Elizabeth, who joined Ferenc a few minutes before, wanted to run off after Agnes, but Ferenc held her back gently.

„ I think we should leave her alone for a little time now, my dear. Maybe I should talk to her later."

„ Well, if you say so, I hope she doesn't do anything foolish until then!" said Elizabeth.

It was getting late, and few people felt like continuing the ball, so Count Sáradi and Elizabeth kindly asked everybody to return to their homes. Elizabeth was worried about her sister falling into a depression again, while Ferenc was worried about something different in connection with Agnes....

**Well, I hope you liked these emotional chapters! Thank you for reading, and review please! For Dracula fans: don't worry, he will take part soon, and there will be a little more action I promise!**


	12. XII Equerries at night and blood drops

**Hello all nice readers! Thank you for the many reviwes, I became so enthusiastic, that I decided to update today! The action will begin soon...**

By quarter past eleven, all the guests have left, and Elizabeth was getting nervous about her sister.

„Would you go and see her in her room now, Ferenc?" she asked „ You said you wanted to talk to her!"

„ Alright love, she must have calmed down by now a little"

„ She didn't seem nervous to me at all" said Elizabeth as they were walking towards the dining hall.

„ Well darling she may not have been nervous, but I'm sure the events have upset her very much! I will come down to you once we have finished talking. Will you stay here then?"

„ Yes of course, I will have some chocolate pudding if there is some left! Good luck with her, she can be tough sometimes!" said Elizabeth as they parted, and Ferenc went to the first floor to Agnes' room. He knocked on the door politely a few times, and then he opened the door, looking inside with a worried expression on his face. The room was neatly put in order, and it could be spotted that it has no dweller now.

„ I should have known!" he said, and rushed downstairs, out to the forecourt, and then left to the equerry. He found Agnes in one of the corners, standing by Midnight's side, wearing travelling clothes: trousers, riding boots, and a long coat. Midnight was saddled already and Agnes was lashing down her gear upon Midnight's back behind it. The interior of the equerry was shady, only the light of the Moon had penetrated though the breaches. Agnes noticed Ferenc as he was approaching, but didn't turn around.

„ I knew I would find you here Miss Agnes!" he started „ Elizabeth will be very disappointed if you leave."

„ She will also be disappointed, if I screw her wedding up with a scene like this" she said, and went on with her work.

„ You shouldn't leave because of that man."

Agnes turned around, with a sceptic expression on her face.

„ Look my Lord, if you care as much about my sister as I think, then give my apologies to her in my name. I had not the heart to tell her that I'm leaving. But don't hold me back. I bring shame upon you all. I'm sure she'll know what I mean."

„ Just ignore what he had said, he--" Agnes interrupted.

„ Ignore? You haven't seen that man's eyes. He didn't even know me, and had such hatred towards me, which I couldn't even see in my worst enemy's eyes. Sorry, but I cannot ignore that. There will always be people like this, who regard me as the foe of the social order. And I will remain the same and tell them what I think, and bring shame upon you, just like he said. It's better if I left."

„ You are our living conscience Miss Agnes" started Ferenc „That man was known for his ill nature by all of us. Yet, we kept inviting him due to the respect towards his father. But you alone had the courage to put him in his place, to kick him off his high horse. We all knew what he said and thought about others, but never told him our opinions, never stood up for ourselves." he said, and quiet descended upon the equerry. Agnes lowered her head.

„ We would lose much if you left" went on Ferenc „ The man's father has apologised to me after you left, and asked me to tell you that you are welcome for a visit in his mansion once, to make up for all the trouble." Tears filled Agnes' eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

„ You are everything to Elizabeth, she would be broken if you left." said Ferenc, and they both became quiet for a while. Finally Agnes turned around, unfolded the straps on her gear, and dropped it on the floor of the equerry. She removed the saddle from Midnight, and led him back to his resting place. She walked back to Ferenc, and grabbed her gear. She looked into the count's eyes.

„ Thank you Lord Ferenc." she said, and walked away towards the exit of the equerry.

„ You're welcome." murmured Ferenc to himself, and waited a while before leaving.

Agnes was walking up the stairs towards her room with her head full of all kinds of thoughts, when she saw Marton and Richard, the latter pushing his brother against the wall, with his back towards Agnes.

„ I told you we shall talk about what you did later!" said Richard menacingly, puckering his bows. He was holding Marton's shirt by its neck.

„ You knew how badly I wanted her, didn't you? She had the scent of orchids, which I wanted to kiss off her neck! Then you came and screwed everything up!"

„ Yuk!" Agnes thought upon hearing this, and getting closer to the two guys.

„ I-I-I-I really didn't mean to, you should understand that I wanted to dance with her as well. And she chose me."

„ You don't think that I'll believe this, do you?" he asked arrogantly, and started lifting Marton up from the floor.

„ Such a lady would ne.." Richard stopped as he felt something touch his back.

„ This is the barrel of a pistol!" ran through his mind.

„ So, you're the seducer who took my daughter's virginity!" came a low, husky voice from behind him. Marton made a surprised face. Richard wanted to turn around.

„ Don't you dare to turn around!" ordered the voice „ I don't even want to look at you! You're such an arrogant and impolite bastard!" Richard's hands started shivering, and he let Marton go.

„ I know you're the right person to shoot, nobody else would ill-treat his brother like that!"

„ Please sir, don't kill me sir, I will do anything! Anything! I'll marry your daughter I promise!" he said, in a begging tone, his whole body shivering with fright.

„ So now you want to marry her! To condemn her to an unhappy marriage! You're the most shallow man I have ever met!" came the answer, but by the time the sentence was finished, the low and husky voice turned back to a lady's gently tinkling one. Agnes' voice. She burst out laughing, as she removed the perfume bottle from behind Richard's back, who turned around with a confused face.

Marton was the next to start laughing, and Richard felt totally humiliated. He raised his head and wanted to say something, but he decided to leave instead, nobody would have listened to him anyway. Agnes and Marton were laughing for long minutes after Richard's figure had disappeared behind one of the rooms' doors.

Ferenc returned to the dining hall to Elizabeth who was nibbling some cakes and mignons happily.

„ Finally you're back! Well, what happened? „ she asked with curious eyes. Ferenc sat down next to her.

„ She will be fine, don't worry. I think we shouldn't disturb her today anymore, a long sleep would certainly do her good!"

„ I'm so glad she's alright, I was very much worried about her. But we still have tomorrow to talk everything over!" she said, with a smile on her face „ Would you like some cakes too? They're really delicious!"

„ Oh, well, why not!" said Ferenc happily, and took a piece for himself.

Meanwhile, in Castle Dracula, three demons were waiting in the grand hall for their master to arrive. All three were at least 2 meters tall, with muscular legs and arms, brown skin and small eyes, and huge leathery wings. They had elonged heads like dogs, large fangs lolled out from their mouths. The creatures' size was nothing compared to that of the hall. Stone pillars like giants stood by two walls of the room, where the light was given by countless torches and candles. All was covered in either wax or ice. The air was freezing cold, and its smoothness was often disturbed by the flapping of bats' wings. The giant doors of the hall suddenly burst open, and Dracula walked in with slow steps. Firs he looked at the demons, and then at Igor.

„ My power and you can still amaze me Igor! What one can make up of a few drops of blood!"

Dracula said, and walked closer to the demons, eyeing them substantially.

„ Especially if it is my blood!" he continued „ We seemed to have reached perfection Igor!" he said, and looked at his servant.

„ Yes Master, thank you! I believe they're just suitable for this task!" said Igor

„ We'll see!" he said, and turned to the demons „ I welcome you to my ice kingdom! You were all born from my blood by my will, and owe me respect and service." he said, walking slowly from the first demon to the third.

„ Here is your chance to show your compliance. Bring me Elizabeth Desewffy here! Try not to hurt her.... too much. If anyone stands in your way, kill them! Here is your opportunity to taste the coppery flavour of human blood!" The demons bowed their ugly heads and knelt down before their master.

„ Leave now, and don't even dare to return without her!" Dracula shouted, and then watched the demons spread their wings and fly away above his head. He gave an evil smile at the thought of easy success. The thought of having Elizabeth didn't thrill him much though.

„ Anything is better than boredom!" he thought as he started walking up the wall for fun.

In the meantime Elizabeth Desweffy was sitting on her bead in her nightgown with Julia, looking at the beautiful pictures of the book, which she got from Agnes. They were whispering and giggling quietly not to disturb anyone. Agnes was wide-awake too in the neighbouring room. She didn't unpack her gear yet; her large gripsack was by the vanity table. She was in her white nightgown as well, and sitting by the tea table reading Homer's Odyssey, and the belt with her weapons hung from the other chair. She always read that book when she needed comfort and wanted to get lost in something. She was fond of reading about the adventures of Ulysses. The book was worn already, and always opened by Agnes' favourite part. She was reading with delight, when she heard the breaking of windows and a loud crash from Elizabeth's room.

**Well? Well? What did you think? Thank you for reading my fic. Please review and tell me what you think about Dracula, and whether I make him talk properly! Thanks!**


	13. XIII Fighting demons

**Hi to all nice readers! Thank you for all the reviews, they were really encouraing! So, this is my first fight-scene, so don't be too angry wiht me if it not so good! But I'm hoping you'll like it!**

Agnes sprang up from her chair immediately, dropped her book and quickly buckled her leather belt on. She looked strange with the belt loaded with weapons upon her light nightgown. She burst the door open, and ran to the neighbouring room, from where the screams of Elizabeth and Julia could be heard. Agnes opened the door and rushed inside. The sight was stunning: Elizabeth was standing on top of her bed screaming and throwing pillows at the demon that was approaching her. Julia was trying to hide behind a bookshelf, throwing books at the other demon that was getting closer to her. The third devilish creature was standing before the empty window-frames, eyeing the other two. The floor was covered in chips of broken glass, most of the windows had completely been destroyed, and the cold night wind was blowing in.

„ What the...?" ran through Agnes' mind. It was then that Elizabeth noticed her sister

„ Agnes, please help!" she screamed.

„ Well, they're just figures on the chessboard!" Agnes thought „ Kill them before they kill us!" She quickly drew her dagger, and threw it towards the demon standing by the window, pinning one of its leathery wings to the window-frame. The demon gave a loud shriek, rather in anger than in pain. It pulled the dagger out from the wooden frame.

„ Well, what do you know? Look what we have here!" it said, and looked at Agnes evilly.

„ Great, these can even talk!" Agnes thought.

„ I never thought this would be so much fun!" The demon gave a smirk, and threw the dagger back towards its owner. Agnes just managed to duck before getting hit, and drew her sword but she wasn't fast enough. Only moments later she could feel the tight grasp of the demon around her neck, holding her with one of its hands up in the air and against the wall. It used its other huge hand to grab Agnes' smaller hand and whip it against the wall, until she dropped her sword. Agnes was losing breath, she knew that she had the knife, which she got from Lady Leila left, but she also knew that the demon would probably knock that out from her hand as well. She tired to think of another solution. The demon was tightening its grasp around her neck, almost blocking the air form her completely, while looking into her eyes, and smiling evilly. With her final strength Agnes lifted her feet, and kicked the demon on its chest. The first kick made it loosen the grasp, the second made it fly to the other end of the room. Agnes was rubbing her throat and coughing heavily after getting up from the floor. She looked at her sister and Julia; the demons were getting closer and closer to them.

„ This is not good!" she thought. Elizabeth and Julia were screaming as loud as they could, it didn't help much though. Agnes drew her knife and moved closer to the demon lying on the floor. But then again she wasn't careful enough: the demon suddenly sprang up, and flung itself against Agnes. They demon's dash made them slide a bit after landing on the floor, with Agnes under the demon's body. She gave a loud scream as the chips of glass tore her nightgown, and scraped the skin on her back. The creature of Hell gave a loud laugh, upon seeing Agnes' pain. It lifted its body from upon Agnes, but she could still feel its stinky breath upon her face, and see all the sharp teeth in its mouth. It looked at Agnes closer, and noticed her beautiful necklace and gem. He grabbed it, tore it off from her neck, and threw it to the demon that had cornered Elizabeth.

„ This will be fine for the masters new bride!" The latter caught it, and nodded.

Suddenly they could hear the third demon talking. It was standing before Julia, who had her back against one of the bookshelves side, and couldn't move an inch of right. The demon was smiling at her menacingly, revealing its sharp fangs.

„ Look at this foolish mortal!" it said, and looked at his companions. They all started laughing, the other one had already managed to catch Elizabeth, and was now holding her by the shoulders, in front of itself „ It looks like she froze!" went the demon on, and turned back to Julia, laughing loudly in an infernal tone.

„ We'll have her killed first, than comes that naughty little kicker, and you get to watch it!" said the demon, which was holding Elizabeth. Elizabeth burst out crying and screaming.

„ No!! Agnes, Julia!!" she tried to escape the demons grasp, but it was holding her tight. By that time Agnes was boiling with fury under the demon, which was eyeing how the other is trying to scare Julia to death. She could hear her sister's scream, and than the pictures of the night of Aziz's death played in front of her eyes again.

„ I will never let that happen again! I have to protect them at any cost!" she thought, and looked around for any possibilities to escape. She could spot her knife a few meters away; it fell there as she dropped it after being pinned to the floor. The demon was holding her hands down, but she had an advantage: it wasn't paying attention to her. As soon as the demon turned back its head to face Agnes again, she knocked her forehead hard to the demons elonged nose. The momentarily distraction of the demon gave Agnes the chance to roll out from under it, and grab her knife. She got up from the floor in an instance, got behind the demon, which had just stood up, and buried the blade deep into its throat. The black blood of the demon started squirting immediately, and it fell onto its knees rattling, while drowning of its own blood.

„ Thank goodness, they're mortals!" ran through Agnes' mind, and looked in Julia's direction. The demon threatening Julia had its back towards Agnes, and was so preoccupied with its victim, it didn't even notice the events. Agnes rushed up to the demon's side, keeping an eye on the other devilish creature, which was trying to keep the writhing Elizabeth in its grasp. It was only then that the demon in front of Julia noticed her. It snarled upon seeing Agnes, but it was also stunned by her cold gaze. This time Agnes was faster, and as the demon was trying to attack her, she stabbed her knife into the demon's stomach and as it stooped, into its back several times. Its black blood shot out upon Agnes nightgown, and on the wall next to Julia. Then Agnes turned on her heels as the demon holding Elizabeth gave a loud and ear-spitting shriek, and tried to fly out the window taking the girl with it. Agnes' reaction was quick: she flung her knife towards the back of the demon. It lodged into its back, where its wings originated.

„ You're not going anywhere!" she shouted, than found her sword on the floor and rushed to the last of the demons, which had rapidly recovered itself from the floor, and was by the left edge of the bed trying to get hold over Elizabeth. It had straightened its back while holding the girl in front of her again, when Agnes placed the blade of her sword against its throat above her sister's head.

„ Let her go, or I'll send you to Hell after the others!" said Agnes in a cold voice. The demon rolled its eyes nervously for a while, then gave smirk, and tossed Elizabeth to Agnes.

„ You can have her if she' that precious to you!" it said, gave a shriek, and quickly flew out between the window-frames. It couldn't use one of its wings properly, with Agnes' knife still in its back, but it was sill a frightening sight as it flew in front of the face of the full Moon. Elizabeth buried her head in Agnes' shoulder while sobbing very hard, while Agnes was still holding out her sword in the direction where the demon had been. Suddenly the door burst open, and in rushed Ferenc, Marton, Richard and Imre. Agnes was frightened and turned in their direction, still holding her sword out, almost spearing Ferenc with it. The four men looked around in horror. The room was like a battlefield; two corpses of the demons lay at two distinct spots of the room, the floor covered in chips of glass and stained with black blood. Agnes let go of Elizabeth, and Ferenc embraced her, trying to calm his fiancé down. Luckily, Julia wasn't hurt either, and Imre was trying to comfort her, and wake her up from the shock. Agnes looked horrible: her sword and the front of her nightgown were black with the blood of the demons, while the torn back of her gown was slowly turning red with her own blood. She had a hump on her forehead, and several cuts on her arms and feet as well. Richard immediately got sick upon seeing all the blood, turned pale, and went back to his own room. All were looking at the corpses of the demons, as those turned to black dust in front of their eyes. Ferenc turned to Agnes.

„ What happened here? What were those creatures?"

„It looks like I have slaughtered two demons in cold blood. I let the third escape. They were demons, I guess." replied Agnes with a pale face, still standing by the edge of the bed.

„ Why didn't you call for help?" asked Ferenc

„ Had we done that, my sister would be somewhere else, and Julia would be dead. Once I swore that I would never let anyone hurt those whom I love. And I have no intention of renege." she said quietly. Agnes dropped her sword after a while, and prodded her chest nervously.

„ Damn, it took my necklace!" she said, as tears dwelled up in her eyes „ It descended down to me from my grandmother! Damn it!" She was feeling exhausted and weak now, and pain started taking over her gradually.

„ What do you mean Elizabeth were somewhere else?" Ferenc asked, then noticed the growing pool of blood by Agnes' feet.

„ I need Marton." said Agnes The young boy stepped forth and was looking at Agnes with desperate eyes.

„ Marton, do you have any equipment for a little doctor's work here?"

„ Yes Miss, I do, but I'm not a real doctor yet, you know. I think we should.." Agnes interrupted in a fading voice.

„ Help me please.." she fainted of the pain, and collapsed upon Elizabeth's bed. Marton rushed to her as she was lying on the bed with her face down, and spotted the chips of glass in her bleeding back right away.

„ I have to remove these quickly! There's no time to call a doctor now! Help me Ferenc!"

Ferenc let Elizabeth go, and carried Agnes to her room, while Marton rushed downstairs for his equipment.

**Huh, (rub sweat off forehead)what do you think? Was it very-very bad? Review please! I would greatly appreciate it! And I know that he has no role in this chapter, but I made a drawing of Agnes' horse, Midnight, which is said to be beautiful, so those who would like to see it, feel free to email me, or give your request in your review, and I'll send it to you with pleasure!**


	14. XIV Rage of a count and saying goodbye

**Hello to all the readers! I was so sad that only one person reviewed my last chapter, please be kind and review this one! Hope you'll like Dracula in it!**

Dracula was sitting in a large armchair in his chambers. He was drinking from a goblet, waiting for the demons' return. Patience was not among his virtues though, and annoyed, he soon started walking around the castle, kicking everything out of his way. Then finally he could feel the presence of a demon in the castle. He quickly appeared in front of the creature which had jus landed in the grand hall. Dracula was raised to fury upon seeing that only one of them had returned, and it didn't even bring Elizabeth along. The demon knelt down before him, it still had Agnes' knife in its back.

„ Forgive me my master, but we have failed." it said. Dracula's eyes turned light blue with anger and disgust because of the demons' uselessness. He grew his fangs and was already thinking about the cruelest form of death to punish the traitor with, as the demon went on.

„ The others were killed." upon hearing this Dracula got even angrier, and grabbed the demon by its throat. He thought he would burn it to a crisp with his touch, after interrogating it.

„ Haven't I told you not to come back without her? And now you expect me to believe this nonsense! You are immortal; no mere human can kill you! Where did the other two cowards get to?!" he shouted, his voice echoed in the large hall. It was then that Dracula noticed the knife sticking out from the demon's back. He let go of the creature's throat and pulled the knife out ignoring the demon's loud shriek. He wiped the blood off the blade with his sleeve, and examined the whole weapon substantially, and tried to interpret the engraved runes.

„ I am the fear of the creatures of the night, I belong to the gifted children." Dracula read the lettering out loud „ A demon-slaying knife! I haven't seen any of these for centuries! A unique masterpiece!" he thought „ Who owns such a precious piece of armour these days?"

„ What man was brave enough to stick up to you three?" asked Dracula as he turned back to the demon.

„ It was no man, master" answered the demon in an evil tone as it narrowed its eyes „ It was a bitch that showed up from nowhere! This belonged to her until we took it." it said, and handed Agnes' necklace over to Dracula. The latter looked at it with amazement and couldn't believe his eyes. Dracula was staring at the beautiful gem for ages and got lost in sight of the beautifully crafted crystals and the silver, which seemed to be luminous in the cold and dim hall.

„ This is no ordinary jewel, its owner must be...but it can't be, that hadn't happened since....." the thoughts were running in his head " Yes, it is possible." The thought of what he had found out made his lips curve into a wide smile, and fire blazed up in his eyes.

„ Leave me alone now! „ he said to the demon „ Your work is done for today!" He turned around upon finishing the sentence and walked away Dracula didn't stop until he got to the mirror room. He came to a stand in front of his large mirror that was metallic black at the moment. But as soon as he began concentrating on Agnes' gem, the mirror's black changed colour: it looked like as if some poisonous green-black-purple liquid would whirl upon its surface, then finally the chaos of colours faded away, and an image was revealed. Agnes was lying in her bed sleeping soundly with her back bandaged now. Her eyelashes cast a shadow over her cheeks, which were white as porcelain. Her full red lips made a beautiful contrast to it along with the wavy locks of her hair covering her neck.

„Yes, it can happen." ran through Dracula's mind „ I never dreamt of witnessing such myself!" He gave a loud sigh and couldn't help smiling, and was already making plans for the following day. He stood in front of the mirror with his gaze fixed on Agnes' face for a long time, until the hours of the night passed by and Dracula had to retire to his coffin for the day.

Early in the morning Agnes and Elizabeth were arguing in the latter's temporary room. They both were in their dressing gowns; Elizabeth was sitting on the bed sulking, while Agnes was searching the cupboards for some kind of bag. She turned around to face her sister with folded arms.

„ I can't believe my words fall on stony ground! Why can't you understand that you have to get out of here?!"

„ Why would I want to? This is my favourite place in the world!"

„ Elizabeth, those demons came here to take you away! I don't know why, but that was the reason! And they will come back!" Elizabeth answered in an ironic tone:

„ What if we only dreamt the whole thing, and our fantasy is deceiving us:"

„ These wounds on my back seem quite real!" said Agnes sarcastically „ Just in case you didn't know, Marton was working to remove the chips of glass for hours!"

„ How can you be so sure they will come back?"

„ I am not sure, but let's not give them a chance, alright?"

„ And why are you sure they wanted me?"

„ You might have been too scared to remember, but I can recall every word that left their disgusting mouths! And they wanted to take you! You're lucky you remember little, Julia has been in a shock since last night!"

„ You said you would protect me from anything!" Agnes rolled her eyes, looked up to the ceiling and began murmuring something. The she walked to the table, and leant on it, crinkling the tablecloth angrily.

„ Listen Elizabeth, I am wounded, I am not sure I could protect you. I am not taking the risk of losing you, do you understand?"

„ I-I-I-I, that's all you can say!" said Elizabeth as she walked up to the other side of the table, facing her sister.

„ Stop being so bossy!" she said.

„I'm not bossy!" Somebody knocked at the door.

„ Come in!" they both shouted angrily. The door opened and Ferenc stepped inside.

„ Good morning ladies!" he greeted them politely „ Did I interrupt something?"

„ No" they both answered, then turned back to face each other.

„ Alright, will you leave if I admit I'm bossy?" asked Agnes sarcastically.

„ No!" came the answer from the obstinate Elizabeth.

Agnes buried her face in her hands, and gave a loud sigh. The suddenly she lifted her head.

„ Alright, then if you don't want to leave then you can have my sword and protect yourself! I will get it right away!" she said, then set off towards the door.

„ Come back here, you know I can't even lift your sword!" said Elizabeth

„ Darling I think your sister is right this time! That was the reason for my coming to your room as well! I want to take you with me somewhere where it's safe! I am worried about you" said Ferenc

Elizabeth sat back onto the bed again, with a huffy look on her face. Agnes and Ferenc were both standing by the door, the latter looking at her lovingly, while the former inquiringly. She gave a loud sigh after a while.

„ Alright, I will start packing right away, you convinced me!"

„ Pack only a few things, I have the rest sent after us later!" said Ferenc.

„ You should leave as soon as possible!" said Agnes, as she walked out the door towards her room. Ferenc looked at her as she was leaving and asked

„ And I suppose you're coming with us Miss Agnes?"

„ No, I have a few things to settle before I leave."

A few hours later a beautiful cart was waiting by the main entrance of the mansion. The sky was blue and Sun was shining, but a light snow covered the ground already. The air was cold, and fresh Agnes, Marton and Ferenc were outside the main entrance waiting for Elizabeth. Richard was already in the coach; he was trying to avoid meeting Agnes after last night's event with the perfume-bottle. Agnes was talking to Marton

„ I wanted to thank you for helping me. I wouldn't have survived without you!"

„ And I could never have stood up against those demons, you behaved bravely! It was a pleasure to aid such a wonderful lady, and am glad your back is better now." answered Marton with a wide smile on his face. Ferenc stepped closer to them.

„ I do not mean to disturb your conversation, but I have to ask you something Miss Agnes. Why do you want to stay here? You said those demons would come back."

„ I really hope they will, in fact. They took my necklace yesterday, and I want it back! It used to belong to my grandmother once, and then my mother wore it. You have to understand that I cannot let it fall into the hands of such evil creatures!"

„ I know I have no authority over you, but I'd rather you came with us instead! I heard you told Elizabeth that you couldn't protect her because you were wounded."

„ I wasn't lying, I cannot protect her, but I can defend myself. You shouldn't worry, I will be fine. And I will get my necklace back even if I have to slaughter a thousand demons for it!"

„ Well, its your decision." said Ferenc, then cleared his throat „ I never managed to thank you for saving her. You saved two lives at one time."

„ You would have done the same I'm sure" said Agnes „ But it was more to luck then my skills. Fortunately they didn't organize the attack. I suppose if they come back, their offence will be more planned than previous night. But I will be prepared for them as well, no more surprises for me!"

Elizabeth and Imre showed up as she finished the sentence. Both Ferenc and Marton kissed Agnes' hand and said goodbye to her, and the sisters were left alone.

„ Sorry if I seemed bossy before." said Agnes

„ Never mind, I know it was for my own good. I wanted to apologise, I didn't even thank you for saving Julia and me. I guess I still can't recall much of the events, but everybody said you acted bravely." Agnes hugged her sister.

„ You're one of those people who are the most important to me in this world. I couldn't put up with it if anything happened to you."

„ I am worried about you. I don't want those whatever creatures to hurt you. I want you to come with us to Kolozsvár"

„ I have to get my necklace back, then I will join you, sooner than you could start missing me. Perhaps I will wake up tomorrow under the same roof as you! Midnight could get me thee in a night's time if I can settle things here quickly." answered Agnes in a cheerful tone „ But you have to leave now, you must reach Kolozsvár before dusk! „

„ Alright, alright. See you soon, big-sister!" said Elizabeth in a happy voice. She was smiling widely with tears in her eyes. The sisters kissed each other on the cheeks before they parted. Elizabeth sat in the cart, while Agnes walked up to the horses in front of it, and whispered something in their ears. Then she patted the leading one on the bottom, and the cart set off. Elizabeth was waving to her sister until they disappeared behind the stone fence of the mansion. Then Agnes turned to Imre.

„ Tell me Imre, is there a library in Gyergyószentmiklós?"

„ Yes Miss, the county library is there near the city hall. Should I have a cart prepared for you as well?" asked the butler politely.

„ No thank you, I will ride my own horse. I will be back before nightfall, please have a light supper prepared for me." said Agnes, as she hurried of towards the equerry.

„ As you wish Miss, have a pleasant journey!"

So we're turning north by the nearest turnout?" asked Elizabeth after they were sitting in the cart for a while.

„ Yes, this is the shorter way to get to Kolozsvár, it will take less time as if we took the path of the coach." answered Ferenc.

„ I really hope my sister will be fine. How is her back actually?" turned Elizabeth to Marton

„ Well, I hope I have successfully removed all the chips. It was bleeding heavily, but the cuts weren't deep fortunately. And she seemed to look better today!"

„ Well, if you say so, but I think it is a silly idea to stay there, but she is even more headstrong than I am!"

„ Can you hear that?" asked Ferenc „ A horseman is approaching!" Elizabeth looked out the window of the coach and saw a rider on a black horse pass by in a crazy zest.

„ Was that Agnes?" asked Marton

„ I think so...I couldn't see it clearly, she will break her neck if she goes on riding like this!" said Elizabeth.

„ At least now we know that her back is fine!" said Ferenc in a cheerful tone.

Elizabeth gave a loud sigh, and took her 'Tales from the Arabian Nights' book out of her bag and started reading it.

Upon reaching the turnout Agnes went straight on to Gyergyószentmiklós, while the cart, which got there later, turned right towards Kolozsvár.

**Well, well, thanks for reading, and pretty please review! I would greatly appreciate it! And I can still send that drawing of Midnight which I mentioned before.**


	15. XV Kidnapped

**Hi to the readers! Thank you for the reviews of last time, I hope you'll like these chapters even more! **

The Sun had already sunk below the horizon, by the time Agnes got back to the Sáradi mansion. She carried a heavy bag up to her room, and then went to the dining hall to have dinner. She asked for Imre as she finished eating. Soon the butler quietly stepped into the room, and took a stand next to Agnes.

„ I'm sure you heard when I said the demons will be coming back Imre, didn't you?"

„ Yes Miss, I did."

„ Now, I will be expecting them. I want you to do something for me. Tell all the servants, and this refers to you as well, not to leave their rooms whatever they hear. Will you do that for me?"

„ I will obey you miss, though I strongly disagree with your decision. In case you got into trouble, nobody would be there to help you." Agnes was drinking red wine from a genuine crystal glass, and then took the glass away from her mouth, and began eying the liquid.

„ What happens to me is up to my concern. But I would never expose any of you to the possible rage of those creatures." she said, and looked up at Imre „ I've seen them and heard them talk yesterday, they would have no mercy on anyone! Stay in your room, I don't want anybody to get hurt. I can defend myself well enough...hopefully."

The air was thick with tension in the mansion until everybody settled down in their own rooms. Agnes was in her room as well, unstrapping the heavy bag, which she brought from Gyergyószentmiklós. She took out large iron traps from them, which the hunters used to capture wolves, and placed them on the floor before the windows. She packed all her gear in her gripsack in case she had to flee from the mansion rashly. She put trousers, a leather jacket, which went down to her thighs, boots and a blouse with lace on its back, on, to be able to move freely if having to fight. Then she drew back into a dark corner, and waited. The minutes seemed to crawl by on feet of lead; Agnes listened to the harsh wind blowing outside. The light of the Moon was blurred by the fog, which had set on the land, hiding all creatures of the night form the eyes of the living. Agnes leant her head against the wall, and dozed off after the long hours of waiting. She was brought back to reality by the sound of breaking windows. Four demons have landed on the floor, with their threatening shrieks turning into painful ones. The traps closed unmercifully, clamping whatever was near and in them. Agnes kept her ears stopped until the noise died, and she could see that the demons were lying on the floor. She ventured out of the corner, with her hand on her sword's grip. She moved closer to the demons, and was wondering if any of them had her necklace.

„ Damn it, now how will I ever get it back?" she thought, as she stopped by one of the demons „ And I have to get rid of these somehow as well." She looked at the demons, and then lodged her sword into three of the bodies one by one.

„ This should send them back to their creator!" Or at least that was what she thought. The fourth demon suddenly opened its eyes, and it had its ugly feet-claws around Agnes' ankle in to time. Her reaction was not quick enough, and the demon spread its wings in an instant and flew out the window, holding its captive by the ankle, arse over tip. Upon being taken outside, Agnes managed to seize her balcony's handrail, and she had no intention of letting go of it. The demon tried to pull her harder, and they were both screaming; one with impatience and rage, the other with pain as she could feel her ligaments are on the edge of tearing. Agnes held on, until the moment the demon had turned around to tear her hands off the rail, then she drew her dagger and cut deep into its feet and legs. The beast gave a shriek and flew away into the thick fog, leaving Agnes hanging from the handrail. She quickly climbed up onto the balcony and rushed inside.

„ I have to get out of here! They might not find me in the fog!" she thought. The three demons were still lying on the floor, Agnes passed them by, and grabbed her gripsack throwing its strap over her head for it to be crossed on her chest, so the bag wouldn't fall when she's riding. She rushed out of her room, and while running down the stairs, she put her dark-green cloak on as well. Agnes left the mansion though the main entrance, and headed for the equerry. She quickly saddled Midnight, jumped on his back, and left the equerry as fast as she could. She looked back at her balcony, and saw the three demons, which she thought to have killed, fly out the window. Her eyes widened in horror as the three devilish creatures vanished in the growing fog.

„ How could that be?" ran though her mind, as she turned back and wanted to make Midnight increase the pace, when she felt a heavy blow on her head. It made her fall off her horse, hit the ground, and bump her head hard. She could hear one of the demons land by her, and take her up in its arms, then she fell unconscious with the horrible thought of mortal fear.

Dracula was wandering around his castle impatiently. He walked up walls, above an army of Dwergi who were working under Igor's control, from one tower to the other, all night long. All kinds of thoughts were whirling in his head, evoking feelings of lust, passion and anticipation in his cold, dead heart. His thoughts were mostly troubled by the question how he should behave towards Agnes.

„ She is not like the others after all." ran through his mind „ In her blood at least she isn't!" The thought of her special blood always raised Dracula's smile. Dawn was already closing in, and there was no sign of demons in the castle, their master was waiting for them by the giant gates of the castle, which he opened for this occasion. There were a few snowflakes falling from above, after having covered all in a thick white blanket during the night. The snow clouds were tailing away by the horizon, revealing an orange-pink segment of the sky. The hard wind was blowing in Dracula's face, making a few loose strands of his hair fly around his head. He was concentrating on the demons' dark aura, and could soon feel them approaching.

„ Finally!" He spotted the four flying dark figures moving closer, one of them was carrying something.

„Or somebody." Dracula thought as a smile of great expectations hovered about his lips. Few moments later, the demons were finally above the castle, and intended to fly inside in a hurry, breaking one of the large windows. Dracula gave a smirk at the thought of his windows being destroyed, when the first rays of the Sun appeared on the orange horizon. The sunlight parched and pierced the demons' skin, burnt the flesh off their bones, until all four have turned into ash, and a figure began falling from the sky instantly. Her dark cloak stopped flying around her, as Agnes successfully landed in Dracula's arms, still senseless.

„ Well, what do you know? She actually descended form the sky!" said Dracula upon looking at Agnes' face. She still had her bag's strap across her chest, and the heavy gripsack hung from her back

„ It was very nice of you to bring your gear along, my love. Welcome to my residence, I will show you to your room now." said Dracula to the unconscious Agnes in his arms, whose fate was now up to his mercy. The count turned around and walked back into his castle with a triumphant look on his face, and the large gates closed behind him.


	16. XVI Meet the 'saviour'

Agnes woke up with a horrible headache. She could feel that she was lying on something soft and warm, but she refused to open her eyes for long minutes, until her pain eased somewhat.

„ Well, at least I know I'm still alive!" she thought, then poked about to find out what she was lying on, and she could feel the touch of silk bedding. The sight that awaited her upon opening her eyes was stunning: she was in a large room, furnished and decorated beautifully; its look exceeded even the opulent rooms of the Italian villas. Carpets and paintings hung on the walls; the bed she was lying on was decorated lavishly, along with the cupboards and vanity table in the other end of the room. All was glimmering in ochre in the light of the setting Sun penetrating through the iron-framed windows. The air was comfortably warm with the heat of the classical-style fireplace, and Agnes couldn't help wondering how she got here from the cold ground of the Sáradi mansion's forecourt. She could also see that someone had taken her cloak and jacket off, and laid it upon a chair nearby. She got off her bed, and decided to take a look around.

„ Whoever saved me from the demons, I'll have to find and thank them" she thought as she walked to the heavy wooden door of her room. The centuries old handle and hinges gave a loud creaking noise, as Agnes quickly slipped outside. She found herself on a corridor, with a balcony running by its left side. The air was much colder; she could even see her own breath in the air. Everything was covered in ice-crystals, which glowed beautifully as the light of candles and torches fell on it. Agnes walked to the balcony, and looked down, hoping to spot some movement. But instead all she could see below were a few more stories of corridors with the same structure, running alongside the wall, forming a circle. She looked up, and could see more of the black stones, which were forming a shape like the inside of a cone.

„ I must be in a tower!" she thought, as she looked down and saw deep darkness between the two sides of the building, making the place look like a bottomless lake.

„ Well, it sure looks odd! I wonder what person might want to live here!" she thought, and then moved on forward in the corridor. She opened and shut doors, unbolted several ones, went down stairs led by her curiosity, until she ended up in a great hall, which had four doors on each side. Stairs led up to somewhere again, but Agnes already grew tired of exploring this cold place, so she decided to look at the paintings and weapons on the wall. The paintings depicted people of all ages, all were genuine pieces of art.

„ They must be noblemen, why would their picture hang here!" she thought, „ I wonder when will I find anyone who lives in this gruesome place! I'd rather get out of here!"

She wasn't left alone for a long time, one of the doors unbolted, and a demon stepped inside. It had wound on its back, and Agnes recognized it immediately, and seized one of the swords exhibited on the wall.

„What is this doing around here? I knew something was not right among these walls!" ran through her mind, as she ran up to the demon from the darkness, and surprised the creature with her swords blade again. They stood still for a moment, then Agnes was the first to have her voice heard.

„ You know what I want from you, I'm sure. You have got something, which belongs to me. Return it, and I'll spare your life!" The demon's face turned into an evil smirk, then it answered with a smile, a few minutes later.

„ It is not me, that you should be interrogating!" the demon spit the words in Agnes' face „ You might want to ask him, if you ever want that back!" it said scornfully, and nodded towards the large door on their right, which had just opened. Agnes looked to the side, at a man who was dressed all in black. His noble features and dark hair fascinated Agnes right away, but she didn't have time to ponder on that.

„ How come you're always being useless?" turned the man to the demon „ Get out of here, you only disturb everything!" as soon as the words rolled off his lips, the demon had already disappeared behind one of the doors. Agnes was left alone with the strange man. He walked up to her, his steps echoing in the empty room. He took a stand before Agnes, bent down a bit, then took the lady's hand, and kissed it gently.

„ Welcome to my castle! I'm Count Vladislaus Dracula at your service Miss." he said, and raised his head, looking deep into the lady's eyes. His touch sent chills up and down Agnes' spine, but she answered in a polite manner

„ Agnes Desewffy, it is my pleasure as well." she nodded. Dracula smiled widely upon hearing her name.

„ So that's how you're called?" he thought „ I should have known!"

„ Who is this man? " ran through Agnes' mind as she was eyeing Dracula „ It cost only his words for that demon to turn into like an obedient and humble dog, that accepts commands from its owner. I'm not out of the trouble yet, I guess!"

„ Miss, I believe we have a lot to talk over, I suggest you accompanied me in the library." he said, and offered his arm to the lady. Agnes answered reluctantly.

„ Actually I would only like to thank you for saving me from those creatures, then I would like to get my necklace back, and not bother you afterwards"

„ Well, I believe the situation is more complex that that." came the answer from the Count „ I didn't save you from the demons, I commanded them to bring you here, and I'm afraid I cannot let you leave."

„ What!?" exclaimed Agnes, and quickly stepped away from Dracula, and trying to make sure he keeps the distance, she affixed her sword to his chest. The count began smiling, upon seeing Agnes' desperate face. He sized the sword by its blade, pulled it out from Agnes' hand, and threw it to the other end of the room. She was stunned to see that the man's hand didn't even bleed.

„ What is he made up of?" she thought

„ I was expecting something like that from you Miss Agnes, but there is really no need for a weapon against me."

„ How does he know me?" she thought desperately, trying to find a possibility to flee this uncomfortable situation.

„ You have slaughtered two of my demons, and wounded another one, rather severely" continued the count „ I have killed people for even less than that" he said, as he moved closer to Agnes, who was trying to back out of the embarrassing impasse, but her back met the wall eventually. The count kept violating Agnes' private zone, which disturbed her very much. She could feel his cool breath on her cheeks, and their bodies were just inches from each other. Dracula went on, as he had cornered Agnes completely.

„ But I have no intention of hurting you. I took all the trouble of having you brought here, how would it make sense then?" His low and husky voice sounded like the tune ice crystals tinkling against each other, to Agnes' ears.

„ You're too precious to me anyway." Dracula already whispered this into Agnes' ear, who was feeling unpleasantly by the propinquity of the count, but part of her was also drawn to him, and wanted to seek adventure. Dracula stepped away from Agnes, and went on talking.

„ If I was lucky enough that the God, whom I despise, had you stumble across my way, I will never ever let you go." Agnes answered sarcastically

„ If there is someone, whom I have nothing to do with, then it is God himself!"

Dracula gave a little laugh, and then turned to Agnes again.

„ Well, my love, if my suspicions are correct, among those who dwell the world right now, you're the one who has the most to do with him!"

Dracula was staring at Agnes with hungry eyes upon saying this, which made her shiver. But what he said, evoke her interest more, than his presence evoke her fear.

„ Do you believe me now, that we have a lot talk over, my love? Will you join me in the library then?" he asked, and offered his arm to Agnes again. She was looking at the count doubtingly, but she accepted it unwillingly.

„ I am not your love." she said firmly. Dracula lead his freezing and stubborn captive to the library with a smile of anticipation and triumph on his face.

**Hmm-hmm-hmm. Thank you for reading my story! Please review, I would be very-very grateful, and it would also encourage me to update soon! I have made a portrait of Agnes, so those who would like to see how she looks like, feel free to contact me, and I'll be happy to send it to you!**


	17. XVII Surprise and secrets in a library

**Hello to all the lovely readers! I have updated! It was at 2 am this morning, andI forgot to include sg important! I shouldn't be writing fic at night, please forgive me those who have read it already! (Sorry Agnes Fey! but I hope you the new part compensates you somewhat!)I'm hoping you'll like this upgraded version, I tried to make it sound neat! And thank you for all the reviews you posted, they were much encouraging!**

Dracula escorted Agnes to the grand library. Agnes' face fell upon stepping inside: the bookshelves went up to the ceiling, with endless rows of books on them. There was a warm fire burning in the fireplace, illuminating two armchairs with high backrests, and a tea table next to it. Agnes sat down in one of the armchairs, and Dracula handed a bowl of fruits to her.

„ Have some darling, you must be hungry" he said, and then took a seat as well. Agnes was too hungry to resist the delicacies, so she took some grapes and began eating. She was sitting cross-legged, with the bowl in her lap, and was eyeing the smiling Dracula with mixed feelings of curiosity and some dismay.

„ I've already told you that there is no need for you to be afraid of me in the way you think. I only want to talk to you. Yet." he said „You probably wonder why I had you brought here"

Agnes didn't answer, but her eyes told Dracula that she was having itching ears about what he has to say. He held his hand next to his face, and slowly opened his folded fingers, letting Agnes' necklace drop hanging on its chain. She wanted to jump from her armchair immediately, but Dracula held out his other hand, calling for silence. Agnes remained in her seat, but she didn't like the situation of somebody giving orders to her.

„ I would like to know where this is from, Miss Agnes."

„ It is mine, and you shouldn't have even taken it." came the stubborn answer

„ I know its yours, but where did you get it?"

„ I didn't steal it, if that's what you think!"

„ I would never assume such a thing about you." said Dracula

„ It used to belong to my grandmother." said Agnes finally

„ Just as I thought" thought Dracula to himself

„ Can I get it back now?" asked Agnes impatiently.

„ In a few minutes my love"

Agnes didn't respond but went on eating the grapes instead. Dracula began talking after a few minutes of quiet.

„ I tired to kidnap your sister at first, but then you came in the picture. And you killed my demons with your knife. That was the first interesting thing about you: you owned a demon-slaying knife"

„ Lady Leila..." thought Agnes.

„ And then I saw your face, and all became clear." said Dracula.

Agnes looked confused at him, but the count enjoyed the situation very much. All her gestures and gentle moves were luring to him; like waving a red baize in front of a bull's eyes. He went on speaking with a small smile.

„ While you were busy getting wolf-traps in Gyergyószentmiklós, I used yesterday to look into your family history and found something remarkable."

Agnes raised her eyebrow.

„ What does my family have to do with my kidnapping?" she thought.

„ You have probably wondered why nobody knew anything about your grandmother's past haven't you?" he asked, while playing with his fingers „ I will tell you then. Have you ever heard about the legend of angels giving up their immortal life for the love of a human?"

Agnes was looking strangely at the count.

„ Is he mad or something?" she thought

„ Your grandmother was one of those angels, my love. She gave up her immortal life, and now you possess her abilities partly. And her blood." he said the last word with special stress. The count loved the amazed look on Agnes' face.

„ This jewel also shows her heavenly origins, a perfect match to an angel. And her descendants" he said, and looked at Agnes with tempting eyes that made Agnes' flesh creep.

" You have it in all yourself, not only in your blood. Even in your name. The very way you are called is from God himself; Agnus Dei, the sacred lamb of God. Agnes; pure, chaste and innocent. "

" And you are pure." thought the count to himself, and a strange fire was lit up in his eyes by the thought.

Agnes was listening to the count with doubts, but deep down she began fearing that it might be true what he says. All things seemed to make sense, but Dracula was still belying the her world as she knew it.

„ The strange thing is, that your mother and sister did not seem to inherit her blood in the way you did." Dracula said, then stood up from his armchair, and got behind Agnes. He leaned down to her, and hanged her jewel back to her neck gently.

„ And this is the reason for some of your special abilities as well. You are a half-angel my love, and sweet blood flows in your veins..." Agnes didn't dare to look up in Dracula's face; instead she began playing with her blouse's collar nervously. Dracula took her hand gently, and drew up the sleeve of her blouse. He noticed the deep scars on her wrist right away.

„ Each drop wasted, is much to be regretted!" he said, and began kissing Agnes' arm, then caressing it with his growing fangs. Agnes looked up at the count, and then jumped up from the chair screaming. The bowl dropped to the floor, the fruits were lying about everywhere, and Agnes was panting heavily, standing behind the other armchair, holding onto the backrest, not to fall over. Her legs were trembling with fear and she was looking at Dracula with horror.

„ What are you? And what do you want from me?" she shouted in a desperate tone. The count was approaching Agnes with a smile on his face.

„ A question reasonable enough, I never told you about it when first introducing myself. I am one of the undead, the prince of Darkness, a vampire." Said the count, and smoothed back his hair „ And what do I want from you? You'll find out soon enough"

„ A vampire?" the inscription in a book ran through Agnes' mind, which she read a few years before „ Evil creatures of the night, who feed upon the blood of the living. Blood...oh my goodness!" She turned on her heels and began running towards the huge doors of the library. She seized the handle, and started yanking it like a madman, but the door didn't move an inch. She turned around, and was expecting to see the count, but he was nowhere. Agnes stepped forward, and her eyes began raking the dark corners of the large room in panic. Then she could feel a cool breath on the skin of her neck. She turned around swiftly, and her eyes met the count's charming and hypnotic ones.

„ You cannot run away from me, my beloved" said the count, upon putting his hands on Agnes' waist and pulling her closer to himself. He enjoyed the feeling of having Agnes' warm body close to his cold one, and the wild throbbing of her heart. He was also charmed by the lady's delicate scent of Freesia flowers.

„ I believe have told you lots things to ponder on, my love. I shall bring you back to your room."

Agnes opened her mouth to speak, but the count put his hand on her forehead, and she began feeling dizzy. She wanted to run away and escape the count's cold embrace, but her feet have abandoned her. The last thing she could hear was the count's husky voice before she fell asleep in her abductor's arms.

„ You shall have dinner with me tonight. Or should I say, morning?" said Dracula, with a smile of delight. He picked Agnes up, and carried her back to her room.

**Well, well, this was their first major conversation. I really ask you, please be kind and review. What do you think about Dracula? Is he written well? I'm constantly nervous about that! Thanks for reading and I can still send you drawings of Agnes and Midnight!**


	18. XVIII Musing and a gift brought by Igor

**Hello to everybody again! I was so over the Moon with the many reviews I got! Thank you for everybody, they have all been very encouraging, and made me enthusiastic. Here is another chapter, I hope you'll like it! **

Dracula's sleeping spell ended a few hours after he had left Agnes in her room. She woke up feeling frustrated and tired with too much sleeping. Agnes was secretly hoping she would see her room in the Sáradi mansion and Elizabeth would come shake her up from her sleep. But then her sister didn't come, and there was dead silence around her. When she opened her eyes, the sight of her current room welcomed her. The sky was dark outside; her room was lit by torches, candles and the light of the fireplace. Agnes jumped off her bed nervously, and wanted to leave, bur found the door locked. She became even more furious finding her weapons gone.

„ That bastard! If I ever get to...oh, whatever!" she thought out loud. She recalled all that Dracula had said to her of angels and blood, and didn't know what to think about it. She walked to the giant windows, to look at the view of the outside world. All Agnes could see were several snow-covered mountaintops piercing the thick blanket of fog, which lay under them. The Moon dressed up all in silver with her beams; it glowed so beautifully on the marble floor of Agnes' room, she stepped on it carefully as if her feet would spoil the fairness.

„ What if it is true what he said?" she thought „ But there are no angels, they are only creatures whom the writers of the Bible made up!" She was playing with her necklace upon eyeing one of the whirling fog clouds under her high windows. She was glad that she got that back at least.

„ But then again, there are supposed to be no vampires either! How can he be a vampire? But he has fangs! Or was I only hallucinating? And what does a vampire want from an angel, if I am one?" she thought. „ I wonder where this gruesome place is anyway! How will I ever get out of here?"

The suddenly she could hear the key turn in the lock, and saw the door handle move. Agnes took a quick look around for any suitable weapons, but all she could find was a large copper candlestick She seized it and decided to hit Dracula on the head if he shows up behind the door. But the sight of the person appearing went beyond her worst fantasies. An ugly grey-skinned short man drodded inside with a long flat white box in his hand.

„Oh my God!" said Agnes backing towards the window, not able to take her eyes off the repulsive-looking man.

„ Good evening Miss, I'm Igor." said the man, and made a low bow.

„ Agnes Desewffy." said Agnes in a frightened tone, trying to get as far as possible from the approaching Igor. He put the box down on Agnes' bed and began rubbing his hands and eyeing the horrified Agnes.

„ Don't worry, the master forbade me to hurt you." he said in a rasping voice" He wants to have dinner with you, and to see you wearing what's in the box. The master will come for you soon." he said, narrowing his ugly black eyes.

„Alright." whispered Agnes, still looking at Igor with wide eyes, as the grey man slowly drodded out, and disappeared behind the door. He locked it and Agnes didn't dare to move until the sound of his steps died in the corridor.

„ What was that man?" thought Agnes „ He looked like as if..as if..I have to get out of here!" Thoughts of fear and disgust filled her mind, and she was still panting with fear. The atmosphere of this place often evoke a feeling of panic in her heart. She wanted to escape.

„ Come on, this dread leads to nowhere," she said to herself „ there has got to be a way to get out of here! No fortress or castle or whatever this is, is perfectly built. And no man in perfectly prepared for everything!"

Agnes managed to calm down after a few minutes, and decided to look at what the box holds for her. She carefully removed the cover, and found a black silk gown inside. She took it by the shoulders and lifted it out from the box. The beautiful gown consisted of two parts; one black with long bell-sleeves which had their edges decorated with lace, and a dark-purple layer covered by the black one, with strings running in the front under the breast line.

„ Well, he certainly has a good taste, I have to admit" said Agnes out loud to herself „ I wonder how this evening will turn out!" then she thought of the count, and began laughing.

„ You'll find out soon enough!" she said after a while in a disguised voice with a smirk on her face, trying to imitate Dracula, like a naughty student making fun of her teacher.

She was examining whether to gown would suit her, when an idea came to her mind. She went on thinking, and the idea became a plan. Agnes' lips curved to a smile, when she could finally see her chance to escape from Castle Dracula.

„ You'll find out sooner how this evening will turn out then you would expect dear count!" Agnes thought, and sneered at the mirror by the vanity table as if Dracula was there. She quickly put the dress on, and sat down in front of the mirror. She combed her hair neatly, then made a bun of it on the back of her head, and fixed it with two large silver hairpins. She put some make up on, and thought everything all over again. Agnes walked up to the windows, and waited patiently for the arrival of the count. She didn't have too much time to stare into the night, for she could soon hear the key turning in the lock of her door for the second time. Agnes gathered all her courage, and took a deep breath. And in stepped the count wearing his usual black trousers and coat, but this coat was elated with silver buttons and cufflinks which had the Fleur de Lis mortised in them, and a thin line of beige embroideries running by the buttons. Dracula walked up to Agnes, who didn't turn around, but kept eyeing the clouds outside. He took a stand behind the lady, who stood with her arms folded. He hugged Agnes from behind, and placed his hands on her underarms. Agnes was shattered by the touch of the count's cold hands, but to her surprise she felt some fear, but was not inspired to run away.

„ Longing for freedom darling?" asked the count.

„ No" said Agnes upon turning around to face Dracula „ Only admiring beauty." she said, studying the count's face „ Just like you do right now." Dracula was surprised by Agnes' comment.

„ You have no idea how fun you are, Agnes. Witty remarks rolling off crimson lips." he said and paused for a while, then went on looking at Agnes' somewhat blushed face „ I am glad you accepted my gift, you look charming. Will you accompany me for dinner then?" asked the count, and offered his arm to Agnes. She didn't say a word, but she had many suspicions regarding this dining together.

„ And will I be served dinner, or will I be served as dinner?" she thought.

„ The time has not come for that yet, love" said Dracula, and Agnes was staring at him amazement.

„ I should be careful not to let my thouhgts show on my face" she thought. Dracula made no comments on this, but led Agnes out of the room instead, with a wide smile on his face.

**Well, thanks for reading. Please review and I will try to post more soon! Drawings are still available for sending, and are said to be good! **


	19. XIX Dining and silver hairpins

**Hello everyone, I'm back! Thank you for all the reviews, i was so glad you liek my Dracula!But even despite those I was not able to post for a while, I'm really sorry! Unfortuantelyit is very likely that I will not update for a few weeks, because I'm having my exam period right now, and have to study from AM to PM. But I'm glad you enjoyed the lastone and hope you'll love this too! Happy Holidays to everybody!**

Agnes and Dracula soon arrived at the magnificent dining room. Unlike most other parts of the castle, which were covered in ice and spider webs, this room sparked with cleanness. Agnes still couldn't help wondering the duality of the place.

" Like its owner" she thought " Attractive on one side, but who could decide on the abominable other one…?"

The air was warm with the heat of the fireplace, which also lit the two tables in the middle of the room, both crafted in fine ebony. The ends of the room were dim, and it sparked Agnes' curiosity right away.

"What's he hiding?" she thought. The closer table was laid at one end, with a line of candles running in the middle, while the other was loaded with all kinds of delicious dishes. Dracula led her to the laid end of the table, and pulled the chair out for her. Agnes sat down, and looked up at the count suspiciously. But he had nothing particular in mind this time, but only walked to the other end of the table and took a seat himself. Dracula took a goblet, which was prepared for him, and began drinking. Agnes puckered her brows and looked into her own goblet to check if it really contains wine as she was hoping. To her relief it was wine, moreover, a tasty vintage. The cover in front of her was rather out of the common, but elegant. Silver cutlery, with all handles as dragons, and one guarded the wine in Agnes' goblet as well, all these surrounding a white porcelain plate and a white napkin embroidered with the figure of another dragon. Agnes could feel the count's eyes upon her, and lifted her head to look him in the eyes.

" Hungry my love, aren't you?" he asked.

" I asked you not to call me that before." came the obstinate answer from the other end of the table " I am hungry in deed, I'm used to having more food a day than a few grapes. I'm beginning to question your hospitality, dear count." she said with a mop. Dracula smiled and transparent figures appeared from the dark end of the room behind him. Agnes was not as frightened as she would have expected herself to be.

" Weird that I'm actually getting used to these phenomena!" she thought, " I wonder what other surprises he has." The cacodemons, as Dracula referred to them, began toting the platters of delicacies from one table to another, next to Agnes' plate. She remained alone with the count again, as Dracula ordered his servants to leave.

" He must have a first-rate cook to have all this prepared" she thought, and took some food out to her plate.

" And I'm beginning to question your manners my lady."

" Well you didn't ask me either whether I would like to come to visit you here" said Agnes between two bites of tomatoes.

" Visit?" thought Dracula, as he drank from his goblet "Is she playing tricks, or is she really that naive? I wonder what you hold for me darling...." He took the goblet away from his mouth, leaned back and started smiling and feasting his eyes on Agnes, who was eating elegantly. The latter flared up when she noticed what Dracula was doing, but she didn't show any signs of her aggravation.

"Does he always have that exasperating smirk on his face?" she thought " But then again, he looks alluring with it. Did I just think that? Forget about that Agnes!"

She was hoping her thoughts didn't show on her face, little did she know that the count had been reading her mind for a while now, and having enormous fun. Agnes finished her meal after some time. She put her silverware down to her plate.

" Thank you for the dinner."

" It is my pleasure you enjoyed it" said Dracula

" What do you have in mind, count?" Agnes asked after a while, and leaned back in her chair with folded arms.

" My plan for this occasion is to spend some quality time with you, and we're making good progress in it I believe"

Agnes raised her eyebrow, and pondered on what to say next.

" What the Hell does this man want from me?" she thought

" You told me many strange things before. What if I don't believe them? If I deny God, and your idea of angels?" she began, and leaned somewhat forward in her chair, and waited for Dracula's reaction.

" Why would I lie to you my love?" he asked " But if you don't believe me, let me tell you an old saying: If God believes in you, it doesn't matter whether you believe in him or not."

" Why? What do I have that he doesn't?" Agnes thought to herself. She was confused, and her usual intuitions failed her in connection with Dracula. The count kept smiling however; it seemed nothing could break down his hilarity. He stood up, and set off towards Agnes. The latter was looking at him with mistrustful eyes. One thing she could surely feel in connection with Dracula: he is totally unpredictable. Agnes was like a frightened cat: all senses on top, ready to run or attack at anytime. Dracula walked up to her slowly, his steps echoed on the walls in the same rhythm as Agnes' heart was pounding. He held out his hand to the lady invitingly.

" I believe we could finish this night in a perfect way. Care to dance, my lady?"

Agnes smiled widely, and gave her hand to the count with pleasure.

" At last! The light in the end of the tunnel!" she thought " I was afraid he'd never ask! Now all I have to do is distract him with something when it's possible! Let the game begin."

She turned towards the count, and began looking at him with wistful eyes.

" You have no idea who you're tempting dear Agnes" Dracula said, and snapped his fingers. Candles lit up everywhere to reveal a giant ballroom with lancet windows, and a large organ with at least a thousand pipes. The organ shortly began playing by itself, the tune sounded vertiginous to Agnes' ears. The couple soon started dancing, and Agnes couldn't feel the marble floor under her feet after a while. The two dark figures slided gently on the glimmering floor like flakes of soot being blown together with snowflakes by the winter wind. Dracula began whispering in her ear, such things which she had wanted to hear her entire life.

" Stay here with me Agnes. Be my Lady and I will be your Lord. You have the secret I have been longing for centuries. Be mine, and I will make you my immortal beloved."

Agnes' hand seemed to burn like fire in Dracula's icy ones, and she was slowly losing control upon looking into Dracula's jet-black eyes, which reflected insatiable desire and lust. The count's blood also boiled with Agnes' closeness more than he expected to, the dainty line of her gentle neck looked more enticing than ever. He stopped Agnes, and dripped her slowly, following the lady, and leaning over her. For a while Agnes felt like she was in a dream; having the charming Dracula to embrace her, was more than a fantastic feeling. She felt the count holding her with arms of steel, and leaning over her, their faces getting closer and closer. Agnes gave a moan, and saw Dracula's canine teeth elongate, and eyes turn into electric blue. She could hear a loud scream in the back of her mind, and felt immediately that something was not right. Like pepped up from a deep sleep, Agnes could break free from the trance Dracula had drawn her into, for one brief moment.

" Oh my God!" she exclaimed in panic. All the events of the dinner had quickly run through her mind, and she also remembered the little surprise she had prepared for Dracula. She let go of the count's arm with her right hand, reached to the back of her head, and seized one of the large silver hairpins. Her hair fell without anything to hold it, and so did the other hairpin, giving a tinkling sound upon hitting the floor. Dracula was alarmed right away, and he grabbed Agnes' hand before she could stab him with the hairpin. The counts fangs went back to their normal size, and he jerked up Agnes swiftly.

" Now, this has been the second time you wanted to kill me in one night, my love! That is rather rude don't you think?" He asked with eyes still blue.

" I am not your love, quit calling me that!" struck back Agnes with a hint of fear in her voice, and was trying to escape Dracula's embrace. The count couldn't help wondering how Agnes managed to wake up from his mesmerism. He looked into Agnes' stubborn and accusing eyes, full of feelings and showing inner turmoil.

" I wonder what other special abilities you have.," he said, as his eyes got back their charming dark shade. Agnes didn't quite understand what he meant by that, but she wanted to think of a clever answer for temporisation.

" If I sire her now, I will never find out. All of her will be gone. Lost forever" Dracula thought, and gave a grimace of disgust. He already hated the heartless vampire Agnes was to become, before she was even born. His thoughts ventured far away.

" Why not?" he thought " I have all the time in the world."

Dracula leaned forward and kissed the dumbfounded Agnes passionately. She tried to protest at first, but then she gave in, by her own free will to her surprise. And she never wanted the moment to end. Agnes opened her eyes as their lips parted after what seemed like ages, and admired Dracula's dark beauty, like the count admired her innocent charm.

" You have just earned yourself another day among the living, darling" said Dracula, as Agnes was trying to regain control over her burning body, and surging feelings.

**Please let me know whatyou think! You know I live for my readers!**

**I would like to thank for the support of the _Widow Dracula _and I recommend her stories to you! And the phrase "immortal beloved" is from her! Thanx Sarrin! **

**Please everybody, review!! **


	20. XX Dangers in Agnes' room

**I am soooo very-very happy that you liked my work, and for all the reviews! They made me boycot studying and write my story instead! If you keep this up, I might update more despite my exams! (and fail in linguistics!...kidding) And some personal thank yous and comments:**

to_ the Widow Dracula_: I wonder if you like this one! I really didn't want to make a box-ring out of Castle Dracula, so he is not punching her around. I know you don't mind, but what about the others?

to _Rhea: _Well, I gave Agnes this ability because she is the descendant of an angel, and to make the story a bit more interesting! I was just writing this when you reviewed by the way!

to _Agnes Fey_: Thanx! Now I really see that I managed to make her look brave!

to _audrey_: I'm so glad you liked my Dracula! And you asked me to update, that was so nice! Here you go!

Agnes was pacing up and down in her room later that day. She found her gripsack by her bed as she got up, so she could put some of her own clothes on: black trousers and a brown shirt with orange embroideries. Agnes was trying to keep track of the days, though time seemed to pass by so quickly in this place, she was not sure whether she had been kidnapped two or three days ago. But she clearly remembered the events of last night. Finally she got tired of walking and sat down on the inner sill of her large windows. Despite the warmth of her room, the windows' surface was stone cold, and beautiful but small ice-crystals began to form where her warm breath had fallen on it. They blurred her vision to the outside world, but she could still see that there were only about ten minutes until sunset. She had to learn to tell the time from the course of the Sun, not that she made use of it here. Agnes knew that Dracula was most likely to show up after sunset, but what was she to do with the fact that she had ten minutes of peace and quiet left?

„ And I let him kiss me!" she thought angrily " I let this bastard to be the first one to kiss me in my life!" she struck on her own knee in fury. How Agnes hated Dracula for that kiss. But she hated herself even more

„ I won't ever let him touch me again!" she thought, „ I will have to make up something else, since that hairpin trick didn't work!" Agnes remembered the lulling moments she spent with the Count, and her heart began pounding again.

„ No," she thought out loud „ Not again! I have to get out of here!" she jumped off the sill, and hurried to her gripsack.

„ He might not have found the secret pouch!" ran through her mind as she was searching her bag. Agnes knew well, that if not Dracula then somebody else looked through her bag, and took all her knives and daggers from her. She was raised to fury finding her arsenal gone after waking up, but now she had a small ray of hope of finding her collapsible dagger in its cache. And it was there! She took the dagger and smiled with delight as the blade sprang out from the handle. Agnes looked at the shiny blade and it reflected her sparkling eyes perfectly. She kissed the blade as if greeting an old and loyal friend, and then looked around to hide in some place for a surprise attack. She knew the count would come to her room little after dusk, so she had to cook up some kind of a strategy rapidly.

„ Dracula is full of surprises," Agnes thought „ so then I have to be full of them too!" She remembered all the tactics the master taught her about how to handle different kinds of enemies.

„ Enemy?" she thought „ No, he is more than that. He is a challenge to any warrior!" A smile danced across her features when she spotted several large iron-rods, baring the torches above the entrance of her room, which have already burnt themselves out.

„ If I manage to make this one right, he doesn't stand a chance!" Agnes gave a little laugh, and set off towards the doorframe.

Several minutes later Dracula was approaching his new beloved's room.

„ So she is up already!" he thought as he heard her heart pounding in his head. He grinned at the thought of seeing her spirited eyes, and feeling her soft skin in his fingers again. The count turned the key in the lock, and opened the large door elegantly. To see nobody inside.

„ She is around here somewhere!" he thought. But even his vampire senses were not quick enough to find out where, by the time Agnes attacked. She jumped off the iron rods from above with the grace of a cat, and thrust the surprised Dracula to the floor. She landed sitting upon his chest, with their faces close, and Agnes having her dagger fixed to the count's throat. It took little time for Dracula to recover from the surprise, although it had been long years since he's been overtaken by anybody like that. He gave an amused grin as Agnes chestnut hair tickled his ears, and he spotted the little golden spots in Agnes' eyes, he never noticed before. Agnes, who was expecting the count to be at least frightened, had a hard time trying to keep up the determined look on her face. She made all efforts to cover her feeling of having botched this opportunity.

„ But why isn't he scared?" she thought desperately.

„ Let me go, count!" she demanded. Dracula raised an eyebrow and asked in an ironic tone.

„ And you want to persuade me to do that with a dagger? There are other ways which I could suggest you" he said with a lascivious grin playing across his features.

„ How can the fact that I may kill him any moment, not anger him at all!?" Agnes thought „ He even seems to enjoy the whole situation!"

„ Let me leave, or I swear I will cut your throat!" she yelled in an irritated tone. The count answered in a low and husky voice that made Agnes shiver.

„ No, my love. I don't think you will." Agnes' eyes widened at the comment, and in the next moment she found herself standing, with Dracula in front of her. The count grabbed her dagger using her momentarily distraction.

„ Damn it!" Agnes said as she began backing away from Dracula.

„ I told you, you cannot kill me darling" said the count with an evil look on his face as only moments later he ran Agnes' dagger through his heart. Agnes gave a shriek and instinctively reached out for Dracula to help, when the count removed the weapon, and threw it to the other end of the room towards the windows. Agnes watched in amazement as Dracula's wound healed in front of her eyes in only seconds. The count smoothed a few unruly strands of hair from his face as if nothing had happened, and started to advance towards Agnes.

„ By the holy poker!" she whispered and couldn't take her eyes off Dracula, who was now wearing a smile of triumph.

„ No, it is nothing holy. My powers are from the Devil. And no soul in this world can kill me" he went on, as Agnes was moving away from him, but soon reined up by one of her bedposts.

„ Not even you my angel." Dracula said as he grabbed the frightened Agnes' waist and pulled her close. The lady gave a shriek and Dracula's fingers of steel tore some of the half-healed wounds covering her whole back open. The count saw the painful look on Agnes' face, and his hands quickly found their way to under his captive's blouse. Agnes was much irritated to feel him touching her again, and were it not for the pain she would have slapped him across the face. But instead the only thing she could do was to lay her head upon Dracula's chest, clinging onto the sleeve of his coat and hoping the paralysing twinge was to be gone soon. She hated the thought of being at the mercy of such a man, and wanted to scream as Dracula's icy hands traced her back. Few seconds later she realised what her warder was doing. Dracula ran smooth fingers over her bleeding wounds and healed them one by one. Agnes soon woke up from the stupor the immense pain had pushed her into. She couldn't feel the agony anymore, so she raised her head only to see the count lick a few drops of her blood from his fingers. Agnes found his doings repulsive, although she was much grateful for what he did, one thing she learnt too darn well so far: nothing is for free. Dracula began playing with her soft hair in amusement and looked deep into Agnes' eyes.

„ It was such a pleasure to aid a wonderful lady." he began, and then a devilish smile appeared on his thin lips „And as for my reward..." Agnes wanted to scream, but Dracula silenced her with a deep kiss. He charmed Agnes off her feet literally as well, and the lady soon found herself upon her bed, with the count lying on top of her. The worries in the back of her mind were silenced by an unfamiliar power, and she gave in to Dracula for the second time. Dracula was watching his enchanted angel with delight, as their lips parted, only to feel Agnes' fist in his stomach a few seconds later. Agnes hit him hard enough to draw the count's attention to his aching stomach for a few seconds. This gave her a chance to roll off the bed, and find her dagger. She sprang up facing Dracula, who was already standing by the other side of the bed. He was boiling with fury, for his hypnotic charisma seemed to have only little effect over Agnes.

„ Well, I am amused with your abilities and talent my love." he said in a tinkling tone „But not with your manners!" Dracula began to approach Agnes menacingly. She held out her dagger towards him.

„ Stay where you are, don't move an inch!" she shouted. Dracula's momentary rage was swept away by a laugh.

„ You are more headstrong than anyone else in the world darling." he said as he leaned against one of the bedposts with arms folded. The thoughts were whirling in Agnes' head; she tried to figure out a way to escape this tight corner.

„ But if you don't want me to pet you by yourself, I have my means of forcing you." Agnes' eyes narrowed and radiated hatred.

„ You can even beat me to death, I will never give in to you!" she spat „ Never." Dracula opened his arms, and his lips curved into an innocent smile.

„ I wouldn't get any further by beating you or hurting your beautiful body in any other way. Besides, why would I harm something which I greatly treasure?" said Dracula while denuding Agnes with his gaze. He lifted his hand up next to his face, and placed his index and thumb fingers together to form a circle.

„ I have more sophisticated ways of convincing you." he finished with an evil grin. Agnes' heart trembled with fear as she head Dracula say this. She knew what the count meant, right away.

„ Touch Elizabeth and suffer my vengeance!" she yelled helplessly.

„Tsk. Tsk my love. Let me remind you that I am immortal, it goes beyond your competence to kill me to hurt me." Dracula turned his back on Agnes, and began walking towards the door.

„ Everyone has a weak point Dracula!" she shouted angrily to the count's back „ And I will find out yours sooner or later!" And she really did find something out upon finishing the sentence. Her eyes flashed and she gave a wide smile. Such a smile, which even Dracula could sense it without looking at her. The count turned around and saw Agnes fix the blade of her dagger to her own throat. Dracula looked at his captive with doubtful eyes.

„ You know I have done it once." Agnes said, „ I will do it this time as well, without second thought!"

Dracula was stunned by Agnes' behaviour, yet he knew that she could cross all his plans with a single movement of her hand. If she had the courage. Dracula had always been a great strategist, and knew when to retreat. He found it entertaining to fight this „war" after the boredom of ages. Though the count had to admit to himself that he underestimated his opponent this time.

„ The greater the challenge, the more I will enjoy the spoils." he thought of finally having Agnes, and gave a small hiss of pleasure in advance. And he knew exactly what his next step would be.

„ Fine!" he spat „ Then you can spend the rest of your life alone in this room! Have fun!" Dracula stormed out of the room slamming the heavy door behind him. Agnes lowered her hand, and dropped the dagger to the floor. Streams of tears began flowing down her cheeks quietly.

**Well, so much for now, I hope you all will have fun reading it! Please review! I just love getting reviews!**


	21. XXI Hidden passages, dreams of a count

**Hello! I'm keeping this short because I'm half asleep now, since its half past 4 in the morning. But I would like to thank all the reviewers, they really boosted my muses and enthusiasm! This one will be loooooong, watch out for yourselves!**

Of all the nights she had spent in castle Dracula, this one was the most miserable for Agnes. She whipped the large wooden door with her gloved fists shouting and swearing to Dracula for hours, first nervously, then in an annoyed and demanding tone. Finally she slid down with her back against the door begging. Knowing what the count could do to Elizabeth to blackmail her, made Agnes panic. She knew that she stunned Dracula with her behaviour, but she was not convinced that it would keep him from hurting her sister. The thought of Elizabeth being hurt because of her pertinacity towards Dracula, made her go crazy with compunction. Agnes began freezing as sitting on the cold floor after a time, and lay upon her bed to think of a possible plan to escape. Again. She was exhausted from the constant stress she had to cope with in this gruesome place. Fray flowed in her veins along with her angel blood, but the current situation was without prospects. Agnes hit the bed with her fist angrily.

„ Who could compete this monster!" Tears began falling from her eyes. Again. She was surprised that this has happened to her for the second time that day; she hardly ever cried. Agnes thought that she had cried all her tears away when Aziz died, and often felt she couldn't cry anymore. However, this time the tears blurred her vision and her eyelids began feeling heavier each moment. Agnes gave in to the calling of the fays of sleep and curled up on her bed, hugging herself. Few hours later she woke up to the awkward feeling of shivering. She was shivering with cold.

„ Great!" she thought, „ Now he's having me curdled!" Her breath formed thick clouds in the air, and the rumbling sound of her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten for a while again. The warm fire in the fireplace went out long ago, and Agnes lost herself in the sight of the charred wood, then she hit herself upon the head

„ The fireplace! Of course!" she jumped from her bed, ran to the fireplace, stepped in to the furnace chamber, and looked up the chimney.

„ Well, this is going to be a tough one! But perhaps I can take the way the smoke can! " Agnes said to herself, then began wiping the soot out of her eyes, which fell on her face when looking up. She leaned against the back wall, then suddenly heard a strident sound from behind herself, and she fell back. Agnes hit her head and was covered in dust and spider webs, but she still glanced around in delight.

„ A secret passage!" she thought gladly. She looked behind herself and could see nothing but spider webs and darkness, but the sight at the moment made her heart jump as if she saw paradise itself. Agnes quickly sprang up and ran to the windows, to see the Sun rise above the horizon to her relief.

„ Perfect!" she thought with a wide smile „ I have all day!" She quickly removed all the spider webs from her clothes and searched her gear through for the small oil-lamp she always carried, then lit it with one of the half-burned candles. Agnes quickly put on warm clothes, she could see dark clouds approaching, and the chill of the outside world already made her freeze to the bone. She pitied that she had to leave all her other precious things behind, but couldn't risk that they might hinder her, and the calling of freedom made her forget the losses. She sprayed some of her favourite perfume upon her neck for the last time and put the delicate-shaped bottle back to the vanity-table with a smile of goodbye. Agnes took the oil-lamp and walked to the newfound door of her room, entered the passage taking a last look at her golden cage, the place of her imprisonment, then tried to pull the thick brick-door behind herself back to its original position. She turned around, and began her journey in the dark and narrow passage.

„ Well, certainly not the best place to be!" she figured as she made her way through the endless cavalcade of cobwebs. Agnes went on walking in this slow manner by the flame of her little lamp for a while and felt that she would drown in the silence of the place. Suddenly she could feel some kind of block by her feet, and kicked something. Agnes bent down to see the skeleton of a wretched human; the skull she had just kicked away from the backbone. She recoiled partly with fright, but more with embarrassment: she didn't want to destroy the mortal remains of the poor soul.

„ The body and spirit of the unlucky fellow must have been destroyed in his life." She looked at the damages upon the bones, and shook her head.

„ Aquidesco ab pacis" she said and drew a cross in the air above the remains.

„ He might have believed in God." she thought. The skeleton reminded her sister being in danger and her heart was beserted by fear. Agnes rose quickly and stepped over the skeleton carefully not to crush any part of it. She went on, increasing her pace, walking for long minutes what seemed like thousands of years to her, then finally reached a wall. Her fingers paddled it carefully, when she heard voices and sounds of little feet trotting on the other side.

„ So the passage did lead somewhere!" she thought, and decided to wait until all the sounds die beyond the wall. Agnes put her ear to the wall, and what she heard, made her eyebrows arch. Gnarls, snaps and snarls could be heard, and Agnes figured out it was a strange language, but she didn't feel like meeting the speakers of it. As silence took over the place again, Agnes pushed the wall as hard as she could, and slowly but surely, it began to move.

„ They must have forgot about this corridor" she thought, as she managed to push the „door" open just enough to squeeze herself through the narrow gap. Agnes stepped out to a broad corridor, and she was keen on pushing the fake wall back to its place, hiding the key of her escape from curious eyes.

„ I honestly wish I would never ever need it again, but who knows?" she thought and engraved a small symbol in one of the stones, using the tip of her dagger. Then without having an idea where she was going, Agnes set off in a direction, sliding in the shadows quietly. She passed numerous doors in the corridor, walked through many rooms: ones smaller, others larger. Suddenly Agnes felt a strange dejavu, and remembered her first wandering around the castle. And meeting Dracula eventually. She grimaced at the thought, and hoped that it will not turn out that way this time. She came into a room that was larger than the others, and it had all kinds of weaponry exhibited on walls and in china cabinets.

„ Just what I need!" Agnes smiled and began examining all the swords daggers, shields and knives as if she were in a market. She was looking for a suitable sword when she noticed her catana sword in one of the showcases. Agnes tried to open it quietly, but it was locked. She had to consider the ideas of choosing another weapon and leaving quietly, leaving her precious sword behind, or break the glass that would probably make so much noise, all in the castle would notice her. Agnes puckered her brows then punched the glass with her gloved hand. The sound echoed through the whole castle, and she knew it was a stupid decision to make, but she had not the heart to leave the sword here. Agnes felt much stronger and more confident having her fingers enclose the well-known hilt, and lifting the sword from among the chips of glass. She looked at the shiny blade with delight, and then found a belt with a sheath for it. She overheard the steps of somebody short coming to her direction, and Agnes stormed off through a huge domed door. Agnes ended up in a dark corner hiding from the dwergi, whom she found most dumb. She crouched completely, not to have her head exposed to the sunlight, and found a rope by her feet, with an iron hook. The rope appeared to be in a good state, and strong enough to bear a human's weight.

„ What do you know? This is my lucky day!" Agnes gave a smile and put the coiled rope upon her shoulder, and could hear the Dwergi approaching again.

„ They might be brainless, but they sure have noses!" she sprang up and fled in the opposite direction, coming to a large room with wooden suspension bridges leading from one side of the room to another. All kinds of machines and electric devices lay in the depth under her feet, all covered in cobwebs. Agnes could see some dwergi coming both from left and right as well as from behind her back.

„ Don't they ever get tired?" she asked out loud, then jumped off the suspension bridge, grabbing a rope hanging from above, and began sliding down. But more dwergi were waiting for her by the end of the rope. She was not as close to them that she couldn't have climbed back, but the evil creatures started shaking the rope, making Agnes dizzy. She felt like an artiste in a circus, and she didn't like the thought. Eventually she got tired of the whole thing, and jumped off the rope landing on the cold stone floor in a smart somersault. Agnes had a hard time getting up, her wrists weren't nuts about the performance, and her head was spinning round, the sight of the place around her reminded her of looking into a kaleidoscope. Abusing the weak moment of hers, the dwergi had cornered Agnes, and she was considering whether she needs to chop them in half, or kicking them would be enough to gain a route to escape. Then Igor showed up behind the troop of dwergi, out of the blue.

„ Not him!" Agnes thought to herself „ Now they have a commander too!" she rolled her eyes, and gave Igor a hard stare.

„ Don't worry, princess, „ he rasped, „ we're not going to hurt you. Unless you obey my orders"

„ Princess? „ thought Agnes raising her eyebrows along with her upper lip „ Since when do I have that title?"

„ Don't you take me for an idiot Igor! I didn't escape to go back without a fight!" she said finally, and looked at the dwergi. „ Dracula will probably explode with fury anyway!" she thought, then gave a razor-sharp smile to Igor, and raised her sword. Agnes never had any fun killing anyone, but the gruesome circumstances must have affected her in a wicked way, for she was having enormous fun slaughtering the evil little creatures, almost dancing among them. She ended up fixing the tip of the blade to Igor's chest, with a wintry smile. The feeling of helplessness was gone from her heart, and she loved being in control.

„ Now who's giving orders to who? Show me the way out of here!" Agnes ordered.

„ The Master would hang me on a hook by my throat if I did that!" came the reply.

„ Sorry to inform you, but either I will make a hole in you now, or he will finish you later. Make a choice."

„ If you kill me, how will you find the way out then, puppet?" Igor said with a wide smile and eyes narrowed. Agnes looked up, rolling her eyes, and she could spot the Sun peeking in through one of the dirty windows, reminding her of the course of time.

„ I don't have time for this!" Agnes hit Igor on the forehead with the grip of her sword, and then chained his limp body to a pillar.

„ That will keep him from waking his Master!" she thought, then ran off through the first door she found. Wandering around in the huge castle, she soon had to figure out that there was no path she could take to escape. She cooked up another possible solution, but that was the last thing she wanted. Agnes had to decide quickly; she knew that time, by all means, was on Dracula's side. Agnes had to face the fact that she had no other choice but to climb down the walls of Castle Dracula. She never climbed any mountains before; she had no idea how to descend down the rocky side of the mountain. Agnes looked down at the dizzying depth that lay by her feet as she stood on a windowsill.

„ I hope the rope can cope with it" She looked up at the sky, and could tell that the Sun was still high, but tiny flakes of snow have started falling from above a long ago. The horrible fate of freezing to death loomed before Agnes, but anything sounded better than dying at Dracula's residence. At least then. Agnes began her perilous journey with fear she had never felt before.

_Dracula was dreaming. He was fully aware that it was a mere dream, but for some reason it seemed real. He hadn't dreamt for centuries, he couldn't even remember what images his brain gave birth to when sleeping, the last time. He looked around, and he recognised the spot immediately. Dracula was in his own castle, everything conducted perfectly to the smallest detail. But when he reached out to touch a gargoyle, the image seemed to be blurred by his touch. As if all was covered in water, and his finger started rings of waves upon the surface. Dracula wondered from what depth of his mind came the phenomena. Then he could see the path laid for him, and began walking towards his chambers, drawn by an unfamiliar force. He pushed the heavy doors open, and headed for his ice coffin. Dracula suddenly felt tired, and unknown feelings took over his dead heart; he felt a kind of agony, as if it was tied up tautly with a thin branch of mandrel. Finally he got his well-known rest place, and looked inside the coffin. What he saw went beyond all his fantasies. Agnes was lying in his coffin, frozen under a thick ice, just like him during his night-rests. Her arms were crossed over her breast, and her eyes closed. Agnes' beauty remained in the crystal-clear dungeon of the ice, but she was no longer alive. Dracula was struck by a sudden feeling of grief: Agnes was dead. Not one of his kind, she died like ordinary mortals._

Close to the time of sunset, Agnes had got far down by the side of the mountain. She lost sight of Castle Dracula long ago, due to the distance, and the heavily falling snow. All her body was frozen; she was hanging from the rope in despair, trying to swing herself under a salient rock to be protected from the snow. The cold cleared her thoughts when she began climbing down, and helped her in concentrating, but by now, she wished to be somewhere else. Her jacket already got wet from the flakes, and it froze on her, making it harder to move. The tears she had cried also froze on her face. Agnes knew she had made a foolish decision when she thought she could make it this way, but she wasn't willing to give up that easily. She swung herself with her last strength, groaning from the strain, and she managed to land on the ledge of the nearest rock. The snow didn't fall there, so the uneven surface of the place gave Agnes a hard time when landing. She tried to sit up, but all her body was in a pain: she was chilled to the narrow of her bones. Agnes curled up, lying on the cold rock, trying to warm her up a bit, but she knew she stood little chance of survival. After a while she could hear a strange soundcoming withthe wind, which reminded her of her childhood; the flapping soundwhen the servants around the house were shaking out the wet sheets after washing, in the afternoon sunlight. She would have given anything to feel that sunlight upon her face now. SoonAgnes' body refused to obey the orders of her brain, and her eyelids closed in unconsciousness.

**I told you it will be long! Sorry I didn't have time to mention all my loyal readers by their names, I will next time, I promise! Please read and review and become my loyal reader! And I still have the drawings of Agnes and Midnight available for sending!**


	22. XXII Grand decisions and rewards

**Hey! I survived one exam, the results will come later, but I care little about those! I'm more worried with the story now, I have so few readers! Whom I have are loyal, and I love them the most in the world,( hugs, kisses, thank you for the reviews you posted so far!)but do tell me if anything is wrong with my fic, I can't think of any other reason for the little number of readers! But this goes out to everyone, I hope you will have as much fun reading it, as I had writing! Another loooong one! And please review!**

Dracula woke up in the very second as the Sun crawled beyond the mountains. He called out for Igor right away, his voice rolling off the black rocks, echoing through the entire castle. But Igor failed to come, and Dracula was infuriated with his servant's disobedience. He was in the dungeon in seconds, to find Igor tied to a stone pillar, struggling with his chains. Dracula was taken aback by the many dead bodies of the dwergi; they have been slaughtered in a manner. He could see right away, that his servants were not killed by any loose-running werewolf, but their death was the sophisticated work of a warrior.

„ Master!" called Igor. Dracula tore his chains off as a response, grabbed his throat, and lifted him up in the air.

„ You let her escape!" yelled the count.

„ She didn't ask for a permission Master!" Igor tried to answer, struggling in Dracula's clench.

„ Don't you dare talk back to me Igor!" Dracula shouted, eyes red wit rage „ Where is she?"

„ I think she began climbing down the wall of the Eastern tower" Dracula dropped the unfortunate Igor, changed into his hell beast form, and flew out through one of the windows. He could hear the slow and dim beating of Agnes' heart in the back of his head as he flew downwards by the stony and uneven surface of the mountain wall. It took him hours to find the unconscious Agnes lying under a salient rock, frozen, and half-dead.

„ To Hell with your stubborn head!" Dracula cursed as he took Agnes' fragile figure in his arms, and flew back to the castle. Changing back into his human form, he laid Agnes' chilled body gently down on her bed, and removed her clothes save her lingerie and blouse. Dracula was fully aware of the fact, that Agnes would hate his guts if he removed more, and they were not wet anyway. But he couldn't keep himself from caressing his angel's smooth naked thighs, although it was more of an aesthetic experience, since Agnes wasn't aware of his gradually growing desire for her at that moment. He covered her in warm blankets, and was hoping she will not die. Dracula knew he wouldn't let that happen anyway, he could save her from death, but the time for her turning has not come yet. But occasionally he thought it might be the simplest solution. The petulant lady caused Dracula more trouble in the past few days than he had in the past few centuries altogether. He hissed as he collected a list of Agnes' nerve-racking deeds in his mind, counting them on his fingers; she killed two demons, wounded a third one, massacred a dozen of dwergi, tried to kill him three times, and herself two times. Dracula tilted his head to the side, and raised his eyebrows.

„ I never believed she would cut her own throat, but trying to escape from here by climbing down the mountain wall with a simple rope can also come up to an attempted suicide." he thought. The count sat down on the inner sill of the window with arms folded, and was eyeing Agnes' chest rising and falling steadily. With her deadly white skin and the cold her body radiated, she resembled the image that Dracula saw in his dream too much.

„ Strange is destiny, isn't it?" the count asked himself „ The living long for death, while the dead long for the living." Mixed feelings arouse in his dead heart towards his sleeping angel; he was angry with her, yet worried in a manner. Moreover, although Dracula hated to admit it to himself, he was amazed with the power Agnes seemed to possess, and her unwearying struggle against any control. He looked at the hands, laid upon the top of the blanket by Agnes' side, which wielded a sword to compete all enemies.

„ Who would know the strength of nine warriors rest in those slender fingers!" Dracula's ears were caught in the rhythm of Agnes' heartbeat, and upon listening to the chant, the count got lost in the tales it told. It spoke of the versatile personality, feeling heart and deep emotions of angel, and confirmed what Dracula already knew in the back of his mind. Agnes' heartbeat revealed her fragility and the wounds and scars she carried in her soul, which made her mistrustful and unapproachable towards the world, and hide behind the mask of a fierce warrior. She didn't fake strength, but she had to pay the price for it, and learnt never to give in to blatant force, even if it meant giving up a chance for indulgence. Dracula could hear Agnes' words echoing in his ears from yesterday: „ _You can even beat me to death, I will never give in to you! Never." _The count gave a small laugh at the entertaining memory.

„ She got used to being in control, but it is about time she found out how it feels to surrender. And the pleasures it might hold." Dracula thought, as the edges of his lips curved into a smile. The count knew he could make her submit using his physical strength or mental abuse, but that would only urge her to lie snug, and turn against him in a weak moment of his.

„ Or worse; turn against herself!" Dracula shook his head „ No" he thought „ She deserves other than that." Making angel surrender in a refined way that would break neither her body, nor her free spirit, sounded a suitable challenge to the Prince of Darkness. He will not take her blood by violence or victimization; suddenly Dracula wanted it as a gift of gratitude and love. He grinned and licked his lips as he remembered the taste of her blood; the intoxicating mixture of fire and honey.

„ Wonder if it would taste even sweeter if it was freely given?" he grinned, then walked to the bed and sat down by Agnes, taking her hand. To Dracula's delight her body began warming up by itself already, and the roses of life began flourishing on her formerly pale cheeks again. The count became more curious about the lady behind the mask of a warrior, whose noble features became smooth in the dreamless sleep she was now in, than ever. Dracula's cold lips began tracing Agnes' knuckles that were warming up gradually. He lost himself in the touch of Agnes' silky skin, and the sight of her maroon hair, lying about on the pillow, like glory glowing around angels' head. The count soon had to retreat to a dark corner, for the Sun began peeking above the horizon as the sign of the new day. He sat down in an armchair; the count wasn't in the mood to retire to his coffin. Yet. Dracula yelled for Igor, and made him bring a goblet of blood for him, and a tray of food for Agnes. The snow clouds were partly blown away, revealing a world of fragilities outside, formed of ice and snow, reflecting the first orange rays. Dracula didn't feel like drawing the heavy crimson drapes, he enjoyed the sight of his angel's face bathing in the early morning sunlight, from the protective darkness. He still couldn't believe Agnes risked her life for flighty and hysterical Elizabeth. Burying a cold blade into her own throat, or dying of frost on a mountain, just to save her.

„ She could teach anyone a lesson of love" he said out loud.

„ Anyone?" he thought right after the words rolled off his lips. He ached his eyebrows, and took a sip of blood from the goblet. Dracula had deep battle scars, and his heart was like an old castle, frozen and deserted centuries ago, damaged by a savage betrayal, he was sure it would never beat again. Unless....someone had the power to revive the dormant embers lying in the cold and death.

* * *

Agnes was way asleep when something began to tickle the back of her mind. She knew the feeling, and tried to flap it away. But it just kept coming back, as if imps were chewing her ears, and yanking her collars. Agnes turned to her side and groaned, she didn't want to get up yet, she enjoyed the warmth of her bed, and the stroke of the morning Sun on her thigh, which lolled out from under the blanket 

" Not this time!" she thought, and her thoughts digressed. Agnes recalled the events of the previous day. The sunrise, the passage with the skeleton, her face turning into a grimace. The dwergi, Igor, and descending down the mountain, and the feeling of frost slowly crawling to her bones. Agnes suddenly sat up in her bed giving out a loud and scared groan. She was panting as her eyes slowly took in the image around her, looking through the mops of her hair in her face. She looked out the window, and saw clear blue skies, but the iron frame seemed familiar. She was back in the castle!

" I m supposed to be dead by now..." Agnes thought out loud, and combed the hair from her face with her fingers.

" But you're not." came a too well known voice from the corner. Agnes jumped a bit from the surprise, then tried to focus switching her gaze from the light to the darkness. Dracula's figure was outlined, as sitting on a chair. All became clear to Agnes in an instant: the count had saved her from dying! And he brought her back, and took the clothes off her! She blushed, then noticed her naked thigh exposed to Dracula's eyes. Agnes quickly covered it with the blanket and looked at the smiling count.

" You shouldn't have hid that! It was really a sight to remember!" he remarked with a hiss of a gourmand " I see you are better now." Agnes didn't answer, she felt embarrassed by the whole situation; the man whom she considered her worst enemy, saved her from the claws of death itself, and half-undressed her. She clenched the sheet next to herself in fury and helplessness. Agnes looked at Dracula who was eyeing her with a curious face, and gave a loud sigh. Perhaps she had misjudged the count. Or at least partly. Mostly she would refer to him as a squirt, but she did owe him a favour now. Not any kind of a favour. Dracula stood up from his chair, drew the curtains, and the room suddenly became intimate in the twilight. He turned around to see Agnes looking around, turning her head from left to right wildly. The count folded his arms, and knew she was looking for her weapons. Dracula rolled his eyes; he was getting tired of Agnes' trying to kill him already. He would punish her if she tried anything this time. Agnes noticed his grimace, and turned to Dracula, giving him a look of deep significance.

" Don't worry, I just checked if they were not lost. I am a warrior, not a murderer. I have morals. I am not going to attempt to kill the man who just saved my life." Agnes lowered her head, began playing with her fingers, and her face softened She lifted her gaze after long minutes, and her deep brown eyes met Dracula's, which were black as a starless night.

" Thank you." Agnes said with a broken smile. Dracula was caught off his guard by this statement. It was the first time for centuries, that somebody honestly thanked him for what he had done, and that Agnes rewarded him with a smile that was not of irony or mockery. His lips curved into a smile, and the look on his face turned into an almost loving one. The magic vibration between them, which had hardly started, was ended by the rumbling sound of Agnes' stomach. She made a grab at her belly, as if that would end the noise. Dracula nodded towards the tray of food on the night table.

" Eat something, you need to regain our strength." Dracula said in a dry voice, knowing who could be blamed for Agnes having eaten nothing for quite a while. The latter's eyes sparkled with delight, took the tray in her lap, then looked up at Dracula before touching the delicacies.

" But don't forget Vladislaus that it was my head that I bowed to you for this, not my heart." Agnes said with a determined look.

" That will do for a start!" Dracula remarked with a devilish grin. Agnes began eating, and tried to decide how she should behave with the count now. Her honour as a warrior would keep her from attacking Dracula in the future; save he should threaten her life. But she knew he wouldn't risk that. The count seemed to enjoy the current situation of setting up as a hero. And she will not give in to his seductive smile. Agnes looked up at Dracula, who was wearing exactly the grin she was thinking about. Her lips curved into a wide smile as well, when she decided it was time she used another of her arsenals. The thoughts began flying in her head quickly.

" I have to co-operate with him to some extent if I ever want to be free again. Without him noticing it. He will regret it a million times that he had kidnapped me!" Agnes combined ideas, forming plans and strategies with the speed of lightning. To her luck it was only later that curious Dracula began reading her thoughts.

" I should be kind to him somewhat." Agnes thought.

" You should indeed. I would appreciate that." said Dracula with a sneer that sent chills up and down Agnes' spine. Of course! Agnes remembered the events of the past days, and put two and two together. She looked at the count angrily.

" Quit reading my thoughts!" she yelled.

" Quit this yelling and be kind to me!" said Dracula, making a face like a spoilt child, leaning forward " At least somewhat." he continued ironically. Agnes didn't say a word, but went on eating some sliced apple, and tried not to think of anything. But she had a hard time; the things, which she was not supposed to think about, kept popping up in her mind. Dracula gave a small laugh at her struggles.

" Then do answer my questions, love" the count said, looking at Agnes from behind a few loose strands of black hair" I have more fun if your thoughts roll off your lips anyway!"

" Alright. Go ahead, ask what you will!" Agnes said, after finishing her breakfast, looking at Dracula raising her eyebrows, making an ignorant face.

" Why did you want to escape? And I want an honest answer darling." Agnes raised her arms in misbelief.

" You ask me why? Aright, I will answer. First, you wanted to kidnap my sister, then your demons kidnapped me instead, you locked me in a room, and then threatened me with hurting Elizabeth. Need anymore reasons?" Agnes asked ironically. Dracula was sitting with his right fist against his mouth.

" And you kissed me." finished Agnes the wide-ranging list. Dracula took his hand away from his mouth, only to reveal a smile Agnes had never seen on anyone's face before; a mixture of lust, desire, triumph and sauciness.

" You are never going to make me believe you haven't enjoyed those, love!" he said. Agnes took up a diabolical smile too, and narrowed her eyes.

" Since I said I will be nice to you count, " she said, then turned to the tray which she placed on the bed by her side " you get to choose what you want me to toss at your big head!"

" I thought you didn't want to kill me anymore!" said Dracula, pretending an innocent smile.

" Surely it would not kill you!"

Dracula made a face of dissatisfaction, and turned to Agnes accusingly.

" So this is what I get as gratitude? As a reward?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, trying to make a piteous expression. Agnes' heart failed one beat when the word 'reward' hit her ears. She could clearly recall what happened the last time Dracula mentioned it.

" I'd better give him one before he takes it for himself!" she thought, and got out of bed, the smile never leaving her face. Dracula couldn't hide his surprise and joy he felt at the sight of Agnes approaching him in nothing but her blouse and lingerie. He had seen her this way only a few hours before, but this time she radiated life and the touch of her warm skin with her blood rushing under it, offered Dracula pleasure beyond imagination. But Agnes stepped on the toes of the count's black boots instead, and stood on her tiptoes to even the difference in height between them; careful not to have her body touch Dracula's. She was playing with her fingers behind her back as she whispered in the count's ear. Agnes knew the feeling of her hot breath upon his ears made Dracula burn with longing.

" Will this do as a reward?" she asked. Dracula didn't answer, but tried to fold his arms around Agnes. But the angel was faster this time, and she jumped away from Dracula rapidly, leaving the latter stand there like he had been poured hot water on the head.

" I wasn't in that much trouble!" said Agnes.

" You don't know who you're tempting, running around in clothes like this. Or should I say without the clothes that you miss?" the count arched his brows, and Agnes gave a minor laugh, but her victory didn't last long, Dracula had disappeared from her sight, and reappeared behind her back, placing his cold hands upon her belly, pulling her close. The count lavished Agnes' dainty neck with kisses that boosted her senses and burned like dry ice upon her skin of flames. Until the second she regained control over her body, and broke away from Dracula, who refused to believe his eyes, as Agnes walked past him, using his distraction.

" Where are you going love?" he inquired, all efforts not to look surprised.

" I will have a bath! This is what people do after getting up, don't they?" she asked, and looked back at Dracula from the bathroom door, to have it closed and locked moments later. If the count's eyes could actually burn, the bathroom door would have been on fire long ago. He grinned, and whispered under his nose:

" This is going to be more fun than I thought!" Dracula quickly turned on his heels and walked out of the room, leaving the door unlocked.

" As fanatic as she is, a locked door would be no barrier!" But he knew Agnes was bound to her ethics, which kept her from such attempts for the time being. To his glee.

Agnes was standing in the bathroom, her back against the door. She could hear Dracula leave as her fingers traced the line of her neck, which were petted by the count's lips only minutes before. Agnes knew she began playing a dangerous game, but part of her enjoyed it tremendously.

" Take one sip of Devil's poison, and you'll get addicted right away." she thought out loud. Agnes turned the tap on, planning to indulge in the hot water, and think things over once more.

**The new summary was the help of _the Widow Dracula_, go read her work too! It's all fabulous!**

**O..o..o. Things got a little hot, didn't they? Please review! I'm desperate! And I won't update unless I get enough of them!**


	23. XXIII Perilous games with storytelling

**First of all, I would like to thank all my dear reviewers, old and new ones, they have been all very-very kind to me, and now I could finally update! So this cahpter goes out to: t_he Widow Dracula, __Agnes Fey, Luthien Anwamane, Countess Alana, Rhea, angel x kii zz, Creative-Insanity, Mysticjewel , Nikoru Sanzo and Alexandria Peterson._ I love you all, I sure hope you will have fun reading this! It will be looooong again!**

Agnes spent the next several days in relative peace and quiet, regaining her strength after the freezing incident, she didn't even see Dracula. She got bored and upset waiting for him.

„ Who does he think he is, at all?" she asked herself in a fret, while pacing around in her room. She decided to leave the four boring walls behind, and soon found her way to the library, where she chased all the boredom with a tower of books she built next to one of the armchairs. The place did bring back memories to her; she still shivered with fright when she thought about Dracula's fangs caressing her underarm. Yet, she was beginning to question her own sanity sitting in the quiet loneliness of the library. Agnes somehow missed the company of the count. And to her shame and surprise she found him a positively interesting person, despite his annoying behaviour and his constant attempts to seduce her. Agnes lifted her head from the book, and gave a small laugh when she remembered Dracula's face from their last encounter as she jumped away before he could have embraced her. She put her hand in front of her mouth, and kept on smiling. But the memory of dangerous kisses Dracula planted upon her neck still haunted her. Moreover he saved her life. After all the ill things they had done to each other. All at once Agnes became eager to get to know Dracula, her mischievous and tempting spectre and saviour; to meet the man, the other side of the monster. Agnes knew he was a monster who feasted upon the blood of the living; she even wondered how come he didn't take hers yet. Though she tended to forget that at times when her mind was on Dracula's deadly charming gaze. Just like most travellers, Agnes was a slave to her curiosity, and wanted to find out about everything in her own way.

„ Before I leave this place forever, I could find out more about its owner." She thought, and looked at the other armchair with perky eyes. Have some fun. And play the perilous game. This was all about fight and adventure, only in a different way. And strangely she was glad that Dracula didn't seem to despise her for her what others would call „un-ladylike" behaviour.

„ Somehow I have to make him swear he won't hurt Elizabeth though." Agnes puckered her brows; she knew she had to present something for Dracula in exchange.

„ In a way it's luck he can be bribed. But he'll have to settle with something else this time..." she thought as she shook her head. Agnes didn't like pushing things through by acting like a she-cat. Especially not towards Dracula. Did she? The count seemed to enjoy caressing her skin however, and it took all her power to break away from Dracula once he put his enchanting spell on her with only the touch of his cold hands. The angel kept pondering on how Dracula's hands turned warm so rapidly if he touched her; at one moment she felt as if an icicle were brought against her skin, then at the next one his fingers were like smouldering iron rods. How did he do that? Mesmerize her that easily? Agnes looked up at the ceiling as if it could give her answers to the questions that haunted her. She suspected the loneliness brought these thoughts to her, so she quickly flapped them away. She should be angry with Dracula after all for his bad manners! Agnes sprang up from the armchair, she got bored of the book she had been reading long ago, she placed it on a table and set off towards one giant shelf. Her heels gave a pattering sound as she walked away from the warm fire. Agnes' hair was pulled up in a loose ponytail, but a few unruly strands had escaped already, and now framed the gentle line of her face. The shirt she wore had a wide neck that left her shoulders bare, and she began freezing after a few steps. Agnes stopped halfway between the rows of books and the armchair when she spotted a chess-set standing on a table near her. A bleak smile appeared on her face as another memory crawled into her mind; the afternoons in Nádudvar when Lord Peter was playing chess with her, letting his little daughter win at times.

„ Father.." she whispered.

„ He doesn't even know of my disappearing I suppose. Hope he won't for a while either..." She thought. Agnes was worried about Lord Peter, she knew his heart had been sick for a while, and didn't want to upset him. But secretly she was hoping that Elizabeth would not tell him what he hears back from the servants regarding the night of her kidnapping. Agnes wanted to believe that her sister will tell she left for another of her travels, their father could cope with that easier. He will be cross, but not that worried.

„ He has to hold on, it will not be son until I can leave from here!" Agnes thought, and recalled the morning they said goodbye when she left for Transylvania, he seemed so strong then. „ He will be alright" She silenced the worries in her heart and took the white queen and placed it to the middle of the chessboard with a smile. Then she spun around and set off to the shelf to look for a new piece of literature to read. Long rows of shelves were loaded with books, and as Agnes ran her fingers upon their spines, she could feel history. Almost each piece of Dracula's collection was worth a fortune.

„ The count must love books even more than I do! I wonder if he had read them all?" Agnes hit herself upon the head.

„ Stop thinking of him! Stop thinking of his touch!" she ordered herself crossly. She took a random book off the shelf, opened it, and began reading the middle of the page.

„_There is a battle that goes on between men and women. Many people call it love"_

Agnes made an angry grimace, closed the book and put it back on the shelf. She moved on until she found a theory book with the title „Nosferatu". Agnes took it from its place with a practical smile. The book was old, the pages turned yellow with the course of time, but all the letters were legible and beautiful.

„ You'll never know!" She turned around with her searching eyes already fixed upon the first page, and began walking back towards the calling warmness of her armchair. Agnes took a look at the chess-set again, and to her surprise the dark king has been moved right next to the white queen she put to the middle of the chessboard only minutes ago. She rose an eyebrow then her lips curved to a smile of anticipation. But she retained her serenity and got back to her favourite spot.

„ I will not lose my head this time." Agnes thought as she sat down, opened the book and began reading. After a few pages she could feel Dracula's cold breath upon her hair, and his icy fingers traced the line of her shoulders only seconds later. Agnes indulged his freezing touch as the count began massaging her shoulders and neck with skilful and gentle hands.

„ Your wintery breath gives you away, count" she said.

„ You only knew I was here because I wanted you to." murmured Dracula with a silky voice „ But your scent surely gives you away." Agnes rolled her eyes.

„ Does he always have to have the last word?" she asked herself

„ Where have you been anyway?" she asked the count in a nippy tone. Dracula arched his brows and leant down to Agnes to whisper in her ear.

„ So you missed me darling?"

„ No, I didn't. But if you keep me as a prisoner here, the least you could do is entertain me!" Dracula gave a laugh and straightened his back.

„ You're not my prisoner Agnes. You are my guest here."

„ Guest?" Agnes asked in misbelief " I thought guests can leave anytime they want."

„ Well then do so. Leave! I am not holding you back." Agnes narrowed her eyes and bit her lip.

„ Why thank you Dracula. You are not holding me back, only the fact that there is no way out of here!" Dracula just couldn't help smiling at his angel.

„ You have no guilty conscience now, I guess!" she remarked.

„ Is fighting against anything her lifestyle?" he wondered. He never stopped massaging Agnes' shoulder however and he enjoyed the blood pulsing under her milky skin, as she was getting angry.

„ No love, I have no conscience at all." Dracula leant down to whisper in Agnes' ear again, then his lips took the place of his hands on the angel's shoulder and neck. Agnes was alarmed right away; she had really determined now that she won't give in to the count's seductive touch. Not a bit.

„ Now this is a bit thick!" Agnes said as she lifted her hands and pushed Dracula's head away from her neck. The count got infuriated with Agnes' actions and in a second he was facing the angel grabbing the armrest of the armchair so swiftly he almost smashed it to pieces with his mere grip.

„ How dare you refuse me? Nobody, and I mean nobody has had the courage to that ever before!" he hissed at Agnes angrily. The latter was scared stiff with Dracula appearing in front of her, she even creased the page of the book in her hand a little, but she wouldn't have showed any signs of fear on her face, even if it was for her dear life.

„ It doesn't take courage Dracula, it takes heart and flesh.." she whispered in a low voice, but with eyes resolute. Dracula's face softened of surprise. He had been caught off unawares with this comment again. It had happened quite many times since Dracula had Agnes in his castle, and it was a feeling he found remarkably arresting. Something that he had forgotten long ago.

„ How come you're not afraid of me?" he asked finally. Agnes' lips curved into a fake endearing smile. Dracula's presence seemed to have a frantic effect upon her; it made her grin in the most unlikely of moments. Especially in those of danger.

„ One thing you do not know about me count: I always get furious before starting to be afraid. Those who survive my fury may see my fear. "

„ If he doesn't tear my throat open for this, he never will..." she thought as she bit her lower lip. Dracula was scanning Agnes' face with curiosity. There was such tension among them it could have been cut with a knife easily. Dracula had a relish for Agnes' blood now, the life running in her veins, a piece of true eternity. She would deserve punishment, while he would enjoy himself. But then he oppressed his bloodlust; he wanted the ecstasy of hearing Agnes offer it to him, to beg for her turning. Yet, Dracula couldn't help but admire her spirit, and the soul reflected in her eyes of fawn. She was exasperating indeed, but she had the guts to oppose him in every way she could, even if she was partly afraid. She may have been a madwoman and a danger even to herself, but...

„ But if I could get her to my side, her courage would serve me. Along with her heart...and body. Especially if the little angel came by her very own free will." Dracula straightened his back and moved away from Agnes, and leant his back against the mantelpiece.

„ Last time you were not so dismissive, angel." he broke the silence finally. Agnes popped up from the trance of fright, only for another cheeky comment to leave her lips:

„ Well, that was what you called a...reward. What have you done since then that deserves a reward and that I don't know of?" she asked with inquisitive eyes. Her former fear was gone like smoke with the wind. Agnes eyed Dracula, who was standing with folded arms, waiting for an answer, to go on with their encounter of wits, the war of words. And by the ochre light coming from behind him, she suddenly discerned the fineness of Dracula's well-muscled body and noble face. Agnes was struck by his dark masculine beauty in an odd manner; she never took the time to look at him this way. And not only her eyes gazed but her heart as well.

„ His body...as if carved by Michelangelo himself." she thought, and her gaze became softer as a light smile appeared on her lips. Agnes noted in the back of her mind that the count still didn't answer her question and went on exploring him with her eyes. Her gaze strayed to his hands as Dracula was no playing with the ring he had on his left ring finger. It was then that Agnes noticed that his right ring finger was missing. She tilted her head to the side a bit, and a question just slipped out of her mouth.

„ What happened to your hand?" Right after finishing the sentence, Agnes realised what she had just asked. She quickly put her hand upon her mouth as if she could take the question back with that.

„ Your curiosity will be your downfall Agnes!" she thought, and would have dealt a blow upon her own head, were it not for the count's presence. Dracula, was this time not reading Agnes' thoughts, but felt already quite amused with the changing of looks on her face, answered with a question in a shrewd tone:

„ And what happened to your wrists?" Agnes looked at her underarms quickly. The sleeve of her shirt only went to her elbow and she didn't wear any gloves. The white scars were clearly visible. She folded her arms to hide them and looked back at Dracula stubbornly.

„ Alright darling," Dracula said with a charming smile „ you will tell your tale and I will tell mine. Does that sound suitable?" Agnes still didn't answer, she was always reluctant about talking about that to anyone, especially to someone who didn't even know too well. She hated reliving those moments.

„ Unless you want me to read it out of your mind. Then you won't find anything out! Nothing to comply with your curiosity"

„ Oh, you huge ego!" she thought angrily „ I wonder how you even get through a door with it!"

„ And I bet I could find your tale in one of these books here!" she snapped back. Dracula was getting annoyed with the headstrong Agnes by this time a bit. But Agnes had something else in mind already. She reminded herself of her plan of co-operating with Dracula to deceive him. And she was curious. Very curious.

„ I will tell you about it if you swear you won't hurt my sister. All is about you and me, let's leave her out of this." she said finally. Dracula had to quench a laugh. He had forgotten about little Elizabeth long ago, he never thought she would be of any use to him after that certain incident. Now Agnes seemed to have proved him wrong. That was a 'sacrifice' he could make.

„Fine then, if you insist. But you know a little story-telling is very slim to offer in exchange for such a favour, you know that love?" he asked with a sardonic look. Agnes looked confused at him, she had nothing else to offer, and she was aware of that weak point of hers. „ But don't worry darling," the count said in a charming voice "I'll figure out a way of evening this later." Dracula said as grin played across his features and he waited to hear Agnes' voice.

„ That's what I'm afraid of.." The latter thought, as she gave loud sigh and pushed the uncomfortable feeling of owing Dracula another favour aside. Agnes had to keep the story short, even if she made a deal.

„ I shed my blood when I lost my fiancé." she said dryly „ Will that do for a tale?" As much as he was caught off guard with this statement, Dracula wanted to know more about this. He never expected Agnes had a fiancé already, and partly, he was jealous. This was getting bothersome.

„ Not quite. What nobleman deserved you shed your own blood for him? What did he do?"

„ He was no nobleman as you know it. But he died to save my life. And I have had enough of the world, and the burden of him giving his life for me. Happy now?" Agnes asked, looking at Dracula, tears wetting the back of her eyes, but she wouldn't let well up. Not in front of him. She must not look weak. Agnes lowered her head, and started playing with the edges of the pages in the book she still had in her lap. Dracula communed with the sight in front of his eyes, and the fact that he had managed to drag a secret out of Agnes, that she seemed to have shared with few before. There were only few things he would not have given to see her cry, though it seemed that delight was left for a different occasion. But Dracula had a piece of her heart for himself now. And it was the time he gained another.

„ As for my part...I have lost my finger when the closest friend of mine removed it from my body after killing me. He wanted my ring" Dracula's lordly voice cut through the silence of the library like a finely crafted sword. Upon hearing him speak, Agnes looked up at Dracula suddenly, furrowing her brows.

„ Your closest friend?" she asked in misbelief. Dracula nodded. And his plan worked. He knew too well what her opinion as a warrior would be about such a deed. Agnes was already beginning to think differently of him. It showed in her voice and the in the slight change of colour on her lips.

„ How despicable!" she said and looked away into the fire behind Dracula „He had been betrayed by his friend..." she thought. Agnes believed she had been hurt and abandoned by God and the whole world after the loss of her beloved ones, but being betrayed by someone whom she deeply trusted...Suddenly she realised how utterly different Dracula was from all the people she had met in her life...and how strikingly similar to her.

„ What made him commit such a crime?" she asked after long minutes, never taking her gaze off the flames.

„ He was ordered by God." said the count. Agnes did not respond to this, she just noted to herself that even the Holy Father had his own slaves to do the dirty work for him. She wanted to ask many questions of Dracula, but she just kept them to herself instead. She was not exactly on the right path to carry out her plan either. Dracula was wearing a smile of victory. He was actually proud of himself in a way, he was making progress in seducing Agnes without having to hurt or hypnotize her. She might even develop real feelings for him. Not that he cared for her feelings...did he?

Agnes stood up from her armchair and silently walked to the mantelpiece to fetch the bottle of wine she placed there a few hours before. She tried to avoid the count's gaze, the happenings of the past days had proved that being this close to Dracula, and looking into his eyes was more than the word 'dangerous' could express. But when the angel turned around, she found Dracula facing her, and her eyes meeting the count's charming ones, which blazed in the orange light of the fireplace like black marble tombstones in the sunshine. Agnes was captured in the sight and thesensation as they looked each other in the eye, and so was Dracula. Though he was the first to speak after the long minutes of gramary.

„ You shouldn't look too deep my love, you could see something you don't like." he warned Agnes.

„ And so could you...." she answered in the same tone. And she was weak. Deep down Agnes felt that if Dracula kissed her then, she would return it again, only to regret it afterwards. His presence evoke feelings in her she hasn't had for a few years. But more in her body than in her heart.

„ Though your charm is not enough to make me...Oh my God!" she thought.

„ What is the date today?" Agnes snapped the question in Dracula's face. The latter rolled his eyes in hopelessness.

„ Since when do you care about the date darling?" he asked in a mocking tone „ You're going somewhere?"

„ I just have to know!" she answered stubbornly. Dracula gave a small laugh

„ If I were you, I wouldn't want to owe any more favours.." Dracula said as he began walking towards the door of the library. He knew that he had won this little battle of today; even if it didn't end exactly the way he wanted it to. The rest of the work was up to the silence now.Agnes made a grimace to his back then began pondering on how she could find out what she wanted. Dracula put his hand on the handle and turned back to Agnes who was still standing by the mantelpiece with the bottle of wine.

„ To me, time is nothing but numbers printed in a calendar." Dracula said, then a promising smile played across his features „ And soon my beloved, it won't be more for you either..."

**Well this was it! I really hoped you liked it, please review, I would be very motivated to update! And still love you all! (Wonder if I got carried away with that Michelangelo simile...! :-))**


	24. XXIV Gap by a door and dancing alone

**Hello my dear readers! I'm back! Thank you for all the reviews you have left since I have updated, they were very encouraging to look at! And I'm still alive, I have visited Prague where Van Helsing was filmed, such a great place it is! And here's a new chapter! Hopefully I still have old readers who didn't get tired of waiting, and new ones who were curious to read all the 23 chapters, and that you all will enjoy this one!**

The thoughts in Agnes' head have been like those in a raving lunatic's in the following days. She was desperate to find out about the date, and trying to cook up a way to escape, all the while making efforts to hide it from Dracula. She knew that Elizabeth's wedding was to take place very soon now, and she did not want to miss it. Time after time, she kept exploring every bit of Castle Dracula, this time watching out for hidden passages. The signs of fatigue began to show on her face after a while, and despite, that part of her dictated a strong urge to be in the count's company, her other half was preoccupied with finding the way out, so most of the time she ended up just dining with him and shuffling to be able to leave as soon as possible. Though Agnes never felt as torn-up from the inside all her life as she did these days, sitting over her meal, as Dracula and her were sitting at the two ends of the table often exchanging unreadable glimpses. She loathed the way her body and heart were screaming against the decisions made by his mind. After it became clear to her, that the place could only be left flying, once Agnes even thought of threatening Igor to drag out of him, how he ever leaves the castle. However, upon eyeing Dracula's servant in the depths of the laboratory, she was able to make a picture of his character, or at least the deteriorated remainders of it, distinct enough as not to try such a thing.

„ Even if he told me where to find the path he uses...I wouldn't get far" she thought. Agnes knew Igor would run to Dracula with the news of her 'hasty departure' as soon as the sound of her footsteps would die in his ears. Somehow, she did not feel like imagining what would happen if Dracula caught her again in the middle of one of her 'little escape attempts' as he referred to them. She did not want to upset the delicate balance that now existed between them.

„Don't fool yourself Agnes, its no balance." Agnes snarled as she was walking along one of the many corridors of Castle Dracula. The days passed, turning into each other in a strange tempo. her situation seemed hopeless, she even ran out of ideas by that time. Rain was falling outside only to cast a gloom on her and the castle as well, though at the same time it filled the cold air with a kind of strange music, as if the raindrops were falling on the keys of a half-untuned piano. Agnes opened another door as she was heading for the Western tower, and found herself in a large room, which looked just like about the hundred others she had seen so far. It used to be a dining hall, large enough that the guests could have been entertained by performers or poets, but instead was covered in cobwebs and dust. Agnes could not help but wonder why Dracula leaves the furniture of finest wood and velvet to be destroyed by the iron teeth of decay. As she set off towards the door at one end of the large room, she suddenly discerned a dim light coming from behind her back.

„ What?" she thought surprisedly, as she whipped around. During the weeks she spent in Dracula's residence, Agnes already found out that few of the rooms were lit in any manner, the light which enabled her to see anything mostly came through the windows, or from the torches and candles on the major corridors. But this time the glimmer stemmed from behind a door, the right side of which was left open, leaving a little gap by the doorframe. Agnes' lips curved into a small smile.

„ Big enough to peek in through it!" she thought as she moved towards the large wooden door with quiet steps and an arch expression on her face.

The Prince of Darkness was standing in front of his mirror, his gaze fixed at the enchanted surface. The image of two men in a library floated between the silver-gold frames. One of them was sitting behind a grand oak table looking through all kinds of old and dusty documents, and various books lay open by his left hand. He looked to be in his mid twenties, and wore the decent, but not fancy clothes of a nobleman, pants and leather jacket, both brownish-toned like the bark of the chestnut tree in autumn, to match the colour of his shoulder-length hair. One of his eyes was lost in battle, and now he wore an eye patch, the only thing to spoil his otherwise handsome features, along with the wrinkles of concern at the moment. His gestures and gaze reflected wisdom and deliberation, virtues possessed by few who walked the Earth. Far behind the table stood another man, leaning against a massive bookshelf, with arms folded. He was clad in the same style; save he was wearing trousers and white shirt, with sleeves hitched up to his elbows. Resembling his elder brother, he was blessed with a handsome face, but his hair and eyes were of an indefinable nighted colour, and his lineaments radiated impatient fury. Suddenly he rushed up to where his brother was sitting, and angrily banged his fist on the table.

„If the last records on his sighting are from over a hundred years ago, then why did he have to return now?"

„I only know as much about him as you do dear brother, please don't ask useless and doltish questions." An expression of misbelief appeared on the latter's face.

„ But how can you sit here so calmly, when our people are dying out there?" he asked as he threw his hands up in the air, then turned away from the table. There was a long silence in the library before the younger man spoke again.

„ Both of us should be out somewhere hunting for him with as many men as we can gather! Searching through the forests and mountains for his lair!" he said, never turning around.

„ Listen here carefully," came the flared-up answer „we are never going to find his hiding place unless we are able to follow him directly to it. But I don't expect to see him sooner than the face of the new Moon now."

„ How can you be so sure about this?" he asked with furrowed brows as he turned back to face his brother.

„ I am not sure, but this is the only idea I was able to conclude on account of the past moths' events. He seems to be „feeding" once a month only. Do you have anything better or wiser in mind? If so, then do not omit to share it." The latter only grimaced and said nothing.

„ Alright, if you have nothing to say, then let me tell you what I think. We have a few weeks to prepare for battle; I suggest we used the time to create a plan of some kind. I have people to take care of, and watch over, I am not going to run straight into his deadly clutches leaving my wife, who is with child, behind. And I will not let you do that either."

Dracula was not surprised at what he saw; in fact, it matched his expectations almost perfectly.

„ Ah, hot-headed young Nikolai, and ever so sober-minded Boris Valerious. The latest generation, who knew nothing of their dark family legacy until these unlucky days." the count let out a small laugh as the Valerious brothers went on with their conversation, but now he grew tired of reading their lips, since his mirror only showed images. „Besides," he thought as he raised an eyebrow „ what fun it would mean if I knew their plan in advance?" Dracula knew he had to get rid of the family as soon as they find out about the oath their ancestor had made, but there and then, he enjoyed observing their struggles to find him, and the investigation they did. „Like reading a genuinely written crime story..." ran through his mind „too bad I know the ending already." Suddenly his thoughts were distracted by soft, steady sounds: heartbeat and breath. A smile stretched across Dracula's features as he turned his attention to the door behind him.

Agnes watched the count's dark figure against the light of the strange mirror that showed two men who seemed to be arguing over something. Mixed feelings evoke in her heart; from one point Dracula scared her, the way he watched what it seemed to be his secret window to the world, he appeared like a malicious spider, looking at smaller creatures from the above, ready to attack them anytime. On the other hand...his dominance and strength were alluring. He was the first person in many years by whose side, she felt fragile and even weak. At times Agnes was overtaken by a weird kind of mixture of desire and serenity in Dracula's presence.

„ How could he arouse so contradictory emotions in me? This man truly is a personification of duality. But who could those men be anyway?" Agnes flapped back from daydreaming to reality, as this little spark blazed up her curiosity again; to create another unanswered question that will cause her some sleepless hours. Agnes could lip-read most people, but in this case, the image was too far for her to discern, and the men seemed to have spoken Romanian, which she did not understand.

„ Why is he watching them so..." Agnes could not finish the thought, for the image in the mirror disappeared and Dracula was turning around. She let out a quiet gasp of surprise, and her legs were quicker to act than her brain, springing from the gap, she ran to the door through which she came in, and precipitately opened it, causing a loud noise. Her mind began to function again after popping up from the astonishment.

„ Bad move, Agnes!" she thought as she stared at the empty corridor in front of her. By a sudden idea, she quickly closed the door and turned around to see the former little gap by the door widen, and Dracula appear. She saw him smile at her as she felt every vessel in her frame dilate, her heart beat rapidly, and every power which sustained life, rush to her face and make her blush.

„ Good evening dear Agnes," began the count in a husky voice as he glided up to Agnes „ it is in deed a pleasure to see you are awake and decided to honour me with your attention by yourself finally." Agnes could not help noticing that hint of sarcasm in Dracula's voice, and knew that meant he was up to something she was not going to like.

„ Could you tell me how long have you been rewarding me with your attention actually?" the count asked as he lifted Agnes' chin to look deep into her eyes. The latter was not feeling as uncomfortable between the door and Dracula as she would have expected herself to be. She knew he probably has noticed her presence, but what if...?

„I have just entered this room as you stepped out from that other one," she said, and her eyes moved in the direction of that certain room to avoid Dracula's cutting glance „ I shut this door behind myself as you opened that one." Agnes shifted her gaze back to Dracula making sure to cover up her lie properly. „And good evening to you as well, Vladislaus." The count gave a wide smile and stroked Agnes' cheek with the back of his fingers.

„ Well, well, I never thought you would be brave enough to repeat that surprise from last time." Agnes' brows popped to her hairline in confusion, though she was inexpressibly relieved by the change of subject.

„ What surprise?" she asked trying to imitate an innocent face. Dracula let go of her chin as his fingers slid to Agnes' shoulders and he began playing with a strand of her hair, enjoying the softness of it on his fingers.

„ Calling me by the name is a brave deed...or should I call it brash and dotty?" Agnes put on a sarcastic grin.

„ Since you call me by my name I don't see why I shouldn't do the same with you without being regarded as brash." As the answer left Agnes' mouth, she herself began pondering on why she called the count by his name. This impersonal way as one refers to close friends or lovers.

„Why am I doing this to a man who is unknown to me and keeps me in his castle against my will?" She began to question the second part of the sentence right away, and her eyes began sparkling with multifarious emotions as she watched the count's hand play with that wavy lock of hers. Slowly she lifted her hand and reached to touch Dracula's, but she stopped only a few inches from it. This delicate move of suppressed affection from his angel was more than enough to blaze up the fervour in Dracula, and induce him to seize Agnes' hand, and quickly press his lips against hers in a kiss. And he indulged in the minutes of delirium they shared. Though this tryst of frost and heat was different from the earlier ones. The touch of Agnes' smooth lips was more intoxicating, and something deep within Dracula's heart was moved, and took him as close to feeling as possible, cruelly vivifying the spark in the cold for a brief moment, causing him pain and pushing him to ecstasy. Every now and then, the count was struck by the unmatched hybrid of angelic power and human fragility Agnes intensely radiated. Dracula also knew it was the angel that kept resisting him...and it was the angel he longed to have for himself for an eternity. But despite experiencing Heaven on Earth, the angel in Agnes soon could not cope with this encounter with the son of the Devil, and she broke the dark magic of the kiss. Dracula still looked at her with passion and lust written on his face, the remainder of the previous spark of an emotion, then he frowned with a questioning expression.

„ Now, I do believe this answered that question of yours, didn't it?" Agnes, who a few seconds ago felt she was a few inches above the ground with groove, now gave an angry grimace at Dracula and pushed him away.

„ How dare you violate the privacy of my thoughts? Again?" Agnes asked fretfully as she set off towards one of the doors in the large room in a quick pace. Dracula grabbed her arm and pulled her back to lock her in his arms and have their faces dangerously close again.

„ So now she doesn't mind the kiss but my reading of her thoughts? What a great leap.." The count thought, then whispered into Agnes' ear in a seductive tone.

„ Yes my dear, you may go now if you choose, just one more favour before you go,"

Agnes couldn't hide her desperate surprise; secretly she was hoping that kiss would be enough to distract Dracula, just like it distracted her for a moment, and keep him from asking the awkward question that was about to come.

„ what are you doing wandering around the castle all day? Looking into rooms, peeking through holes?" The count asked, emphasizing the last phrase, as he raised his eyebrows, creating wrinkles on his forehead that meant no good. Agnes knew what the count meant to find out with this question, but she just ignored it, made a stupid face, and freed herself from Dracula's embrace. She took a few steps away from him, and putting on a pouty look she raised her right arm in front of her in the air as if she embraced somebody on the shoulder, and stretched out her left arm to take an imaginary hand.

„ What do you think?" Agnes asked in a cheeky tone „ I have been dancing around here by myself, since nobody is here to entertain me. Again." She gave the word 'nobody' a special stress, and tried to make the whole cooked-up nonsense believable. And literally she began dancing, elegantly putting her feet after one another in the steps of the Waltz. In the back of her mind Agnes thought Dracula might be eccentric enough to do such a thing himself, so maybe, just maybe, he could be deceived.

„ Even if he is not," she thought to herself between two twirls„I'm not giving away this one without a fight." As for Dracula, the whole dancing scene was now a part of the game they played, and he successfully oppressed a smile to make Agnes think he fell for her lie. Though she did arch her arms and threw her head back elegantly, and the cracking sound of her heels on the stone floor suddenly sounded like music, it seemed to Dracula as if the angel was intently teasing him. Often he wondered who was playing with who, and Agnes' strategy, Dracula swore she had one in her beautiful head, was not always clear to him.

„ Hmm, I almost forgot the reason I had her brought here..." the count thought as he watched Agnes move gracefully in front of him. „ She would make a perfect liar were it not me she's lying to..." Up until that moment, Dracula only suspected that Agnes had the special gift of seeing people in their true colours, but now that she picked one of his least feasible habits to use against him, he knew it for sure. „Clever to hide a lie behind it..." He would often dance by himself for his own amusement, and to annoy others, but he could not stand being annoyed. The count turned on his heels with his cloak flying behind him and walked to a door. Before leaving the grand room, he turned his head short to give dancing Agnes a knowing look.

„ Hats off, dear Agnes, I am truly impressed by your dancing...Now I am beginning to regret not taking you to my All Hallow's Eve ball!" Seeing an unpleasantly surprised expression on his angel's face, Dracula left with a satisfied grin.

„ What?" Agnes thought as she stopped and angrily crossed her arms.

**Thank you for reading, and let me know if I still can get things right with writing! Did you like the new chapter titles?I have uploaded a new drawing of Agnes on my homepage and a few photos that I took in Prague, check them if you feel like, they're said to be good! Love you all!**


	25. XXV Caught by the mirror

**Hello my lovely readers! I am so happy that not everybody forgot about me and my lil'ol story; thank you Joker, Vampiriceve, the Unrequited Lover; and I am also over the Moon that I got new readers!; thank you Willow-sama, and Linwe Ringeril. And here's a new chapter for you, I am hoping you will like it!  
**

Agnes was fuming, pacing around her room in her lavender nightgown. She had been doing that all night, almost wearing a hole in the carpet and the floor. Most of the time she would actually wish the rocks under her feet would give up supporting, and fall, hoping they would hit Dracula on the head. The thought made a malicious smile stretch across her features; she has not talked to the count since he almost caught her skulking behind the door, and she was still angry with him. She could not forget Dracula's last comment.

„ Hats off, dear Agnes, I am truly impressed by your dancing...Now I am beginning to regret not taking you to my All Hallow's Eve ball!"

Repeating it over and over again got her even stroppier if it was possible.

„ Who does he think he is, to do such a thing to me?" Agnes thought as she finally stopped by the window; she even made herself dizzy by all the pacing. She looked at the sky, bathing in the faint light of dawn, and the slowly fading face of the old Moon. However, she could not enjoy the gripping sight of the new day almost starting; only Dracula's face loomed in front of her eyes.

„ And why does he keep me here? For amusement? A play-thing?" It did make sense to think such of the count, but somehow deep in her being Agnes felt there must be something different to this. She had a vague memory of the count whispering to her about making her his beloved as they were dancing. And his deeds seemed to have supported this idea as well...though Agnes was not exactly sure about what this adventure held for her at the end ...as she was not sure about anything regarding the strange man that kept her confined. Nevertheless, she was convinced that Dracula had something particular in mind concerning her; otherwise, he would never go through all the trouble she has caused him.

„Why couldn't he take me to that ball, I'm sure he himself had enjoyed it beyond measure!" She stared at the horizon through the glass that was trapped among the crooked bars finely crafted in iron. Her own thoughts confusing her, made feelings erupt from Agnes' heart, that were far worse than anger. She felt disappointed and betrayed in a way, and annoyed at the fact that she cared about what Dracula did or did not do. And recalling their kiss from last time...it made her flesh creep and her heart quiver. The look in those char eyes of his, that strand of hair by his face which he always puts behind his ear and always escapes...the poison of dark love on those elegant lips...the thirsty fire of the kiss...That was too much to live through. A too beauteous and overpowering attack against her sanity and firm beliefs. Things were not going as she planned they would...not at all. The intoxicating memory from the secret depths of her heart induced her reason to quickly try and find redemption in remorse for her former thoughts and emotions, and try to perceive the sensation through the ever-thick glasses of logic.

„ It is because I am bored, and have nobody to talk to, and because I love balls!" Agnes thought out loud in a fretful tone and pressed a consistent look upon her face, and looked at her reflection in the window glass. But even the angel was not as talented in lying as to fool herself, especially with a stupid lie such as that one. Then Agnes tilted her head to the side a bit, and caught sight of her own gaze in the window glass.

„ You're a coward Agnes." she said. The angel had a hard time banishing her troublesome thoughts to the back of her mind as she saw the first red light of the morning Sun. It seemed as if the horizon had caught fire, the colour almost too rich for the eye to take in. Agnes greeted the warm rays with an equally warm smile, as she hid her eyes from direct contact with them behind the shadow of an iron bar.

„ Dracula is at rest. Finally." she thought as she turned away from the window and hurried to the wardrobe to fetch her dark, hooded cape. Agnes had been waiting for that morning for days, which seemed like centuries to her. She knew Dracula was asleep during the day, once she saw him rise from his icy rest place, and now was aware that she must avoid that place from far away. As the angel could not forget the memory of the kiss, she never forgot about what she saw back then either. She needed the daytime to revisit the 'mirror room' as she began to call it since she first laid her eyes upon the strange, dusty chamber. Agnes was now desperate to find out something about the outside world, her thoughts were concentrated on making her way to her destination as soon as possible as she put her cape on, and left her room with quiet steps like a cat setting off to hunt. She only clamped the cape by its neck with her hands, as she had no intention of spending too much time away from her primary shelter. Little did she know about the pair of wondering eyes that observed every eloquent move of hers. Dracula was following her from far away in an easy pace, walking upside-down on the ceiling, his sensitive ears absorbing the sound of Agnes' Turkish moccasins brushing against the cold stone floor in the rhythm of her steps. How strangely this day started! I t has been many leap years that he had been awake, despite that the Sun's lethal rays never got to the interiors of his castle.

„ Did she really think I could not move around by daytime?" flashed through the count's mind as he was watching Agnes' back. This time however, other thoughts of hers interested him. He knew exactly where she was heading, but not her motives behind doing so. The sight of the angel in a cape and a nightgown hurrying in front of him looked very promising for the brand new day. Dracula was not able to predict the reaction to expect from Agnes once he will show up around her soon, and that filled him with anticipation.

„ But today would be memorable for the angel...a lecture on deceiving people whose affection she bears..." What a word!

„Affection...affection" he kept repeating it silently, yet to the count it seemed as if it was violently screamed from the back of his mind. He was growing attached to the creature of bloom that has been giving him such a hard time for over a month now. Dracula craved to be near her, even if it was hard to confess. But he would gain the trust and love of Agnes' wounded heart...And again, he began pondering on the outcome of this dawn-encounter with a pry, but faint smile.

Agnes soon reached the heavy door, the only thing that now separated her from her destination. She took a deep breath and folded her white fingers around the old, copper handle. She turned the handle, and pushed the door that gave a harsh, creaking noise, echoing through the whole castle. Agnes stopped for a moment to see whether someone has noticed her, then upon not catching sight of anyone moving, she slid into the room and closed the door behind herself. The angel turned around slowly to see the beautiful mirror partly covered in cobwebs, behind a thin mist of whirling dust, ochre in the light of candles. She took a careful step towards it, to examine the matt surface, in which she could see a blurry reflection of herself.

„ If I only I knew how to make it show me Elizabeth.." she thought. And no sooner, than the idea had flown away on soundless wings, the surface of the mirror suddenly teed off whirling with dark colours. Agnes jumped back in fright at the first impression, then took a stand in front of the mirror, far enough to be able to escape, but close enough to discern all that might show up. Her eyes lit up with joy when she saw her sister with her fiancé. Her felicity did not last long however; she noticed them both wearing fancy clothes: Elizabeth in a breathtaking wedding-gown, and Ferenc in a genuine suit, probably sewn by the best tailor of Budapest. They were wed. They were most likely heading home after their wedding. The couple was asleep with an expression of bliss on their faces, Elizabeth leaning her head on her husband's shoulder. Tears came to Agnes' eyes as she watched them dreaming, envying their happy union, and regretting she had failed to attend the grand event.

„As afflicted as Elizabeth and father must have been by my absence..." Upon watching the newly wed couple an idea ran through mind which she may have regarded preposterous earlier, but that moment, it seemed more painful...Her own loneliness dawned upon her. The dams in her heart broke, letting sadness flow from her eyes in rivers of tears. All of a sudden it appeared to her that the only creature in the world that truly knew something about her real self and understood her, was the very one that kept her confined and made her feel confused about her own emotions and perception of the world. Around whom she felt her body burning and her heart naked...Dracula. The only person who managed to stir her heart behind the sky-high wall she built around it. All her life she longed to be free, and let her heart soar. But what was meant as a wall for protection, only cast it into a prison. Now she was struggling to tear the sweetest chains of love that were snaking their ways around her arms and legs, bounding her here by the count's side. It started as a fight, controlled by a conducted plan...but by this time she could not fathom what she was fighting for... What a thought to entertain! She was supposed to abhor Dracula for all he had done and is likely to do...but that was not what she felt. Agnes let go of her cape to wipe the tears from her face, and the heavy velvet fell to the floor; but she couldn't care less this time, she didn't mind the cold from the outside, her years-long cold attitude within her heart disturbed her far more. She looked at Elizabeth again...joyful she was.

„ I should myself be happy as well..." she thought as she took a deep breath and hugged her own bare shoulders.

„ My lonely angel..." Dracula's voice echoed even in the small room as it travelled to Agnes' ear on silky wings. He has been watching Agnes over the past few minutes: the orange light on her skin, the dainty outline of her legs through the thin fabric of her nightgown. But now he had to touch her.

Agnes was flung back from the labyrinth of her thoughts and popped around, expecting to meet Dracula's gaze. All she could see was the dark door.

„ Is my imagination toying with me? Or did I hear Vladislaus speak?" she thought out loud. Agnes kept listening for a few minutes, even forgetting to breathe at times, then she slowly turned back towards the mirror. She jumped in fright when she found Dracula facing her. But something was not right; he was upside down. Agnes was staring at him with lips parted in misbelief and one eyebrow raised, and Dracula was looking back with a grin so typical of him.

„ How was he...at this time of the day? And..." Agnes was trying to find answers, but it made no difference: she has been caught. Few minutes passed until the vampire landed before the angel who was standing with her hands clutched under her chin, and cheeks still wet with tears. The count took a step towards Agnes and his arms immediately found their ways around her waist, and Agnes found herself not even trying to protest about the whole thing. Instead, she was trying to figure out a rapid explanation for her presence in that room, and avoiding the count's inquisitive eyes, she fixed her gaze at the collar of Dracula's black coat. She really was caught off guard this time: no weapons, no wit, only tears, and sadness radiating from her. She had to pull herself together as quickly as possible.

„ Speak of the Devil..." spoke Dracula as he was stroking Agnes' jawbone and lifted her head slowly for his stare to meet eyes in a lake of tears, sparkling like diamonds. Such an unearthly delight to see her that way.

„ Hmm...No lady's eyes can be beautiful unless she cried before." Agnes opened her mouth to speak, explain herself, to ward off the probable questions, but Dracula just put his left index finger at her mouth.

„ Hush, my love, I don't need no explanation." the count said, his voice honey-sweet, but slightly threatening. Dracula never broke their enchanted eye contact as his left hand crawled from over Agnes' back to her nape. His fingers drew gentle circles around that protuberant bone, making Agnes' flesh creep, then the white fingers continued their exploring and were soon trapped in the angel's hair. Pale knuckles clenched maroon locks, and Dracula drew the angel's head back slightly, increasing Agnes' heartbeat with surprise, though she could not say it was an unpleasant moment in time. Her neck was arched like that of a graceful swan and she closed her eyes, knowing all protest would be superfluous. Agnes was up to the count's mercy or rage right then, an iron arm was around her waist, there was no chance to escape; but the knowledge did not disturb her all starkly. The count brushed his thin lips against the white skin that hid the vein in the gentle flesh of the angel's neck, and began whispering in a tone that cast Agnes into another state of consciousness.

„Tsk-tsk...Lying is a bad habit my dear angel..." The count was on the edge of losing control as well, but he was aware of the fact that he was the snake hypnotizing the victim, not vice versa. His kisses getting fervent the flame growing bigger, like the pie of fine sand in an hour-glass, with every passing second. The increasing heat was percolated with lust, passion, and an unknown sensation, which Dracula could not delve into.

" Did I ever lie to you Agnes?" he asked. Agnes heard a dangerous edge in Dracula's voice, but she waited for whatever was to come. Suddenly the count noticed a single tear stream forth from his angel's left eye, a late remainder of the earlier surging feelings. Driven by a headlong idea, Dracula pressed his lips against Agnes' cheek, and kissed the tear way. It tasted of love, joy and sorrow mixed in a salty potion. Such an enigmatical moment. An undefined delight shot through his body as a weak shadow of these feelings washed over him. Only to be gone in an instant, like a deafening flash of lighting across the black sky, leaving a silent thrill behind itself. Agnes was staring at the count with stricken eyes; he never looked so disturbed earlier, it appeared he had forgotten about all that was happening around him. Dracula's eyes were peering into an imaginary distance, which he seemed to have found in the angel's eyes. Agnes diffidently lifted her hand to fondle the count's face. The feeling of her soft fingers against his skin made Dracula awaken from the trance, and a smile appear on his lips. As he laid his eyes upon Agnes, he knew she would never let her leave his side. To Agnes it appeared to be a different smile than what she had seen before, it looked almost happy. She thought that was a fine moment to put the question she had been willing to ask for a long time to him. Dracula opened his mouth to speak, but this time it was Agnes who silenced him with her index finger.

„ Up till now, I spoke and you were listening with contentment written all over your face. This time, I ask, and you answer." Dracula raised an eyebrow and his former smile changed a bit, turning into more of a seductive one.

„ I await your questions then my dear." At that moment, the count didn't feel like reading her mind to find out, so he decided to be a bit yielding. Waiting to see what Agnes would do with the freedom granted to her. Agnes was undeniably surprised by Dracula behaving in a so cooperating manner, but she had to speak her mind.

„ Tell me finally, why you keep me here. What is your reason for desperately wanting to possess me? And don't dare tell me I would find out soon enough...or I swear I'll...I'll..." Agnes was so helpless, having nothing in store for Dracula, she already laughed at what she was going to say.

"...trample on your foot!" Agnes watched Dracula's smile widen. " You are ridiculous, Agnes." ran through her mind. Nevertheless, she waited for the answer with bated breath, and a headstrong gaze fixed on the count, but not being able to hide her attachment to him, she leaned closer to Dracula and parted her lips a bit in anticipation.

**Well, that's it! I know that you already know what Drac wants, but don't forget that she doesn't exactly know it yet! Thank you for reading! And if you liked it perhaps you could review as well! **


	26. XXVI Letters

**Hello lovely readers! I'm still alive! I've been vey busy in the past months: travelling, exams, working, et cetera. Anyway, I hope you will like the new chapters, both new and old readers, and thank you very much for your patience! Love you all!**

**And this now is the second version...Thank you Fortune Zyne, it was a typo...**

Agnes was sitting in the library of Castle Dracula, with her diary in her lap. Upon walking into the grand room that afternoon she spotted a row of windows among the bookshelves, high above, and regarded it as a nice place to spend her time. She found a ladder in one of the corners and climbed up, and seated herself next to the cold glass. The comforting heat from the fireplace did not penetrate to that particular spot, but a pillow was placed in the cool offset, and Agnes suspected she was not the first one to enjoy the view from up there. Rain clouds came to play above the castle again, their tears melted the snow and filled the dangerous depths around the mountain with cold water. For some time Agnes had been reading the previous entries in her diary that made her mind drift to endless forests, yellow deserts, and gorgeous cities, but she could not get herself to writing. She had determined to record the events of the past two months, but they still sounded unearthly. She read the last entry, and she did not recognize herself in it anymore. It was from the day before she had left Nádudvar, her home, and upon reading, her life from back then, which was now locked in lines written in black ink, appeared incomplete. Dracula's words from an earlier encounter still echoed in her ears, she could not, did not want to, erase them from her memory. The way the count locked his arms around her and whispered into her ear that he wanted spend eternity like that...

„ You want to marry me, or..?" Dracula gave a wide smile upon hearing the question.

„ In a way you would be my bride" he answered softly „All it takes, is a kiss.."

Agnes shivered when she recalled that, and thought of recording it in her diary. It was a strange love, an already faded kind of mellow that she felt from the inside, which was peculiar to live through, and she could not find the means to put it in writing. Agnes used to think her heart died with Aziz; it sounded odd that it would be somebody undead who brings it back to life, but she thought more of Dracula now; to her, he was not a heartless monster anymore.

„ Do I have the right to call anyone a heartless monster at all?" she asked silently of herself, and thought of her past. In many ways, she was no different from Dracula, several people had the right to call her heartless as well. The count's words came to her mind, from a starry night on an encounter in a small yard hidden in the castle. The little space offered a delightful view of the night sky, and the frozen ground hosted a lonely wizen tree with twisted stump and branches. She was alone, when Dracula showed up, from where Agnes did not know. She watched the light of the stars play in Dracula's jet-black eyes; cruel and enchanting. She began wondering what the count saw in her eyes, and she did not have to wait long to find out.

„You have the eyes of a killer." Agnes' was shattered that he could see into her soul, the secrets she hid from everyone, he saw it behind the tender brown disguise of her eyes. Agnes quickly turned the pages of her diary back to an entry from the previous year. That starless night in Baghdad quickly came to life before her eyes again. She was wandering in the streets, wearing a hooded cape, hiding her face from the world, when she recognized some familiar faces; faces from a nightmare she thought she'd never wake up from. Men sitting outside a cafeteria, just like any other Baghdad citizen, they looked all peaceful as they were sipping tea and chatting. But Agnes knew who they were, she would never forget the dreadful faces of the men who murdered her fiancé. She was grateful the master was not with her, she could settle this matter alone. Agnes has never before found any amusement in killing other people, but she couldn't help that demonic smile that would not leave her face as she slaughtered them in an alley only a few hours later. A cathartic feeling washed over her, as she saw the mangled bodies lying in the sand that was white in the moonlight, save the growing pools of blood that appeared black. She knew this would not bring Aziz back, but never to feel defenceless again…it put her in the mood she could actually have broken out in laughter which would have ended in an ocean of tears. Agnes walked back to where she way staying with the master, knowing she had changed forever. That was the first one added to the long-to-be list of the blood-curdling deeds of hers. Agnes' mind fell back to her body from the sky of memories as she heard the creaking sound of the doors' hinges. In trodded Igor with an envelope in his hands, which he placed on the table by the fireplace.

He looked up at the silhouette of Agnes, and „From the Master." was all he said and left the room as unexpectedly as he came.

„Why is he sending me a letter?" Agnes wondered as she stared at the envelope glowing in white in the velvety darkness around.

"I have to finish with my diary first" she whispered, trying to flap curious thoughts away. In vain, for a second later she was already climbing downwards for a tryst with Dracula's thoughts. She took the envelope from the table, broke the red seal, and began reading the lines written in red ink after having seated herself in the armchair she sat on the ominous day of her arrival in Castle Dracula.

_Dear Agnes,_

_I would very much have preferred to have this done in person, but unfortunately because of certain duties, I had to depart earlier than expected. I would hereby like to invite you to my annual Winter Solstice Ball to Budapest, held on the 21st of December. A carriage will await you at sunset on the day you get this letter. For the ball, all will be arranged, and your comfort on the way will be tended to by Igor. I wish you a pleasant journey._

_Yours truly,_

_D._

„And what if I decline?" ran through Agnes' mind. „That would be unexpected.." she grinned widely, and imagined Dracula's face. It made a good joke, but in actuality, she had no idea of declining the invitation. Just the contrary.

„To Budapest then.." Ten long years have passed since she had been to the Hungarian capital. She remembered a few places vaguely, but her stay with her father in the city had not been long; 1852 was not a happy time in Budapest after the defeat of the war of independence against Austria.

„ It is time my boots fretted the cobbles of Andrássy Avenue again." The second motivation she had fumbling in the back of her mind was the possibility of escaping.

„Budapest is big enough for me to disappear..." Agnes knew too well, that she would miss Dracula, but she never lost her love of freedom. Her wild heart was happy only, when the air of liberty filled her head with dreams of places she has to visit. Agnes folded the letter, put it back into the envelope, and left the library to pack a few things.

Meanwhile, Nikolai Valerious was sitting in another library, reading something else. The day was already drowning behind the mountains around Vaseria and he last orange rays sneaked into the Valerious manor's library, illuminating the young man's careworn face. The sound of laughter coming from downstairs penetrated into the lonely kingdom of books, reminding Nikolai of the past days' events. Fortune rewarded his brother more amply than ever before. All dwellers of Vaseria have been cheering him as a hero since he managed to kill a werewolf two days before. And on that sunny morning, the youngest of the Valerious was born. Boris' son, Velkan. Nikolai has never earlier been so jealous of his brother. The first-born son, who received the title of their father, next to whom he felt like a nobody. He wished to step out from the shadow of his brother, showing the courage that dwelt in his heart to all, and earn their respect, as well as his own. Nikolai gave a sigh when it occurred to him that his mind should be on the on the black lines in front of him

„ We still haven't made any progress to hunt Dracula down..." His troubled mind would not let him relax for a single second; Nikolai kept rereading the pages of the book that lay on the table, over and over again. It was the diary of their great-grandfather, the one from their family line to fight Dracula over a hundred years ago. Fyodor Valerious left many helpful writings behind that contained his ideas on how to kill Dracula, the behaviour of werewolves, and possible means to reach Dracula's hiding place. It helped Boris in defeating the werewolf, and since reading these passages, both brothers spent much time in front of the grand painting of Transylvania's map in the manor's weapon portico.

„If only I could get near enough to drive a stake through his vile heart..."Nikolai gave a bitter laugh at the improbability of the idea he toyed with. He got back to reading with furrowed brows, but was soon interrupted. The library door opened slowly, and his young cousin, Katina slipped in. She was a black-haired filly of not more than five summers. She gently walked up to Nikolai's table, and put her fingers on the edge, tilting her head upwards, and gazed at the books and papers curiously.

„Good evening Katina, how can I help you?" asked the young man as his face softened and a smile appeared on his lips.

„Uncle Boris told me to get you. He said you would surely be up here sitting alone. Come on downstairs, its very fun. What are you doing here anyway?" asked Katina crinkling her little nose, and putting her hands to her hips. Nikolai stared at Katina for a while, with love and concern in his eyes. „I'm reading about...Dragons." he said finally.

„Dragons?" asked Katina with wide eyes. „I'm afraid of dragons!" She ran to Nikolai and embraced his knee, and looked up at him. „Will you protect me from dragons Uncle Nikolai?" Nikolai petted Katina on the head; she knew nothing of the shadow that hung above them all the time, taking possession of their thoughts and hearts, day and night, even if they forgot about it momentarily.

„ I will never let dragons hurt you. Tell Uncle Boris I will be right down." said Nikolai with a heavy heart.

„Okay, I will." Katina let go of Nikolai's knee and ran towards the library door. She turned back before leaving.

„Why don't you come down with me now?" she asked with curious eyes.

„I have to put the dragons to sleep." Nikolai answered with a mysterious smile.

„Ooo.." answered Katina, and seemed to be touched by the answer "Then...be careful."

The little girl shut the door behind herself, and Nikolai was left with the dead silence of the library once more. He finished reading the notes, packed all away, and already haunted by the need for company, he set off towards he dining hall, where all people probably were. Walking down the stairs that lead to the entrance hall, he noticed one of the servants enter at a quick pace with an envelope in his hands. The middle-aged thin man was taking his coat off in a rushing manner when Nikolai walked up to him.

„Good evening Usor, what did the mail-coach bring?" he asked casually.

„Oh Sir, good evening, I was in such a hurry, I didn't notice you. This was not brought by a mail coach, but a pursuivant. He said it was very urgent, it is from our men in Budapest."

Nikolai's eyes lit up, and he took the letter from the man.

„ Thank you for your swift measures, you may leave now. Have some dinner."

„ Thank you for your kindness, Sir." Usor said, and left after a bow.

Nikolai ripped the envelope open, and found a letter from their loyal captain, Raban.

_Dear Sirs,_

_I do hope this letter reaches you in time, for your presence here would be very much needed. We have discovered that Dracula is to hold a masked ball on the 21st of December, and all the aristocratic families from Budapest are invited. It will be held in his palace in the outskirts of town, surrounded by a lonely grove. We have spotted the Count himself two days ago as well, he is able to mix with he elegant people in the streets perfectly, who welcomed him as a new member of the elite already. The best way to attack Dracula would be to mingle with the ball crowd and the first one to get close to him, would drive a stake through his heart. I suggest you depart from Vaseria at once, and I hope to welcome you in Budapest as soon as possible with all the men you can bring so we can organize an attack._

_Yours faithfully:_

_Captain Raban Ievlevich_

Nikolai could hardly believe his eyes.

„ A ball in Budapest...Dracula..." Nikolai knew what a ripping possibility this offered...a chance he would not let anyone else have. He would be he one to free their family from this curse that took the form of a vampire. All of their people would cheer him as a hero when he returned. Suddenly he realized how little time he had left.

„Today is the 18th...There's no way I would make it with the stagecoach. But if I rode day and night...the monster is not here, the night is safe again."

Nikolai creased the letter, and hurried up to his room. He tossed the letter upon his bed, and started to pack.

„ Boris is not likely to notice my absence until tomorrow. He might be worried, but he'll forgive all if I return with the count's death-rate."

Within an hour, Nikolai Valerious was already galloping away from Transylvania on the back of his grey mare, Anaeste. The sounds of the night surrounded him, and the wind played with his hair as it whispered into his ear, of grand things to come in his future.

**Thank you very much for reading my upate! Do let me know what you think: can I still write in the way I used to? The way you liked it? Please review. And thank you once more.**


	27. XXVII Of Desires

**Hello dear readers, I am back again with a new chapter! First of all, I would like to thank all those who reviewed. I was so happy that I have three new reviewers. Thank you Gem,Robyn xoxo, and fearsomdiety for your interest, I hope you will keep on liking my story! And of course I didn't forget my old readers, The Unrequited Lover, Joker and Fortune Zyne, thank you for your constant support! I love your reviews to pieces you know, I get so few! Enjoy the chapter, it turned out to be even longer than usual.**

„We'll stop here to rest for a while." Igor's throaty voice awoke Agnes from the slumber, which she light-mindedly let herself fall into. She looked out the carriage window and her eyes met an old iron gate that looked like the evil teeth of the pointed gateway. With the help of an unknown hand, chains rattled, wood gritted, and the heavy iron lattice began climbing upwards to give way to the carriage, which slowly moved towards the pitched court. Heavy darkness surrounded the unfamiliar place; Agnes blinked all the time, trying to catch sight of something in her surroundings. Finally, she looked upwards, and could spot a pointed tower crowned with pinnacles, piercing the angry sky in grey clouds.

„A fine building of Gothic architecture" she thought „But we cannot be even near Budapest yet." For the first time in many long years, during the past months Agnes had no idea where she was, and the thought was really bothering her. Cold wind blew into the cosy carriage as Igor opened the door, and gestured Agnes to get out. The latter did not hesitate in leaving the small space she was locked into for quite a while, she would have given anything to stretch in a bed, but she refused the helping hand Igor offered to her.

„Very well then..." the servant groaned from under his dark brown hood. „ Follow me." He grabbed Agnes' gripsack, and walked to the other end of the court that was wet with rain, towards a door, under a pointed arch. Igor raked up an old rusty key from one of his pockets, and opened the door with it. Dust rippled in the old air within the castle or fortress, Agnes was not able to determine what it was, but she could see it was centuries old. Igor lit a silver lamp and turned left into a long corridor. Dusty tapestries covered the wall, showing pictures of a hunt.

„Bloody scenes for decoration..." Agnes thought. She loved animals, and never quite understood why certain people found amusement in slaughtering them brutally. Sculptures followed the tapestries as they walked along the corridor; statues of people, and a dragon every now and then. Small lancet windows broke the monotony of the stone wall on Agnes' left, and let in more darkness from the outside if possible. Ribbed vaults copped over the large hall they entered after a few minutes of walking, the walls on the right made up completely of lancet windows. Silent rain began to fall again, which remained unnoticed to Agnes until lighting struck, so near the castle that the thunder was almost deafening. The cold silver flash illuminated a row of sculptures forming unearthly beings standing in a row by the left wall, which in that state of mind made fears crowd upon Agnes. She followed Igor without a word, with a queer feeling of surprise over her sudden fright. At last, they reached a spiral staircase that led to another corridor.

„ Are we going to walk around in this place all night, or will I get some rest finally?" ran through Agnes' mind. She was just about to tap Igor on the shoulder, when the latter suddenly stopped in front of a door, and opened it.

„ Your room, Lady." He stepped back, and Agnes precariously entered the room. It was furnished in similar style as her room in Castle Dracula, but she woefully noted that it was dark, cold, and a thick blanket of dust covered all in a quiet manner. Igor hobbled in after her, and threw her gripsack to the floor.

„ Get some sleep, I will be back for you in a few hours." Agnes nodded, and Igor left the room.

„ If only all would stop giving orders." Agnes grimaced at herself in the dusty mirror, but her face lit up when she noticed a balcony in front of her. She rushed to the glass doors, and looked out, placing her forehead against the cool glass. The balcony seemed safe, save it was wet from the rain, but that did not bother Agnes the least. Her hands instinctively looked for the handle, but in the back of her mind, she expected to find all locked. To her surprise, the handle yielded to her hand, and the door opened, Agnes literally falling out to the balcony. She tottered to the stone balustrade, and looked down. It was raining heavily, but neither the silver drops falling towards the ground, nor her cascading dark locks could keep Agnes from seeing that she was only about two storeys high. She straightened her back, took a deep breath, and by that time, her mind was troubled by a painful demon: the call of freedom. The rustling sound of the trees around the castle, the wind's whisper, it sounded like a familiar voice calling out to her. Telling of places she has to explore, battles she has to fight, challenges she must face, inebriating her. Agnes rushed back to the room, looking for anything that might do as a rope. She knew it would be useless to try to look in the castle, she could hear Igor lock the door as he left. Agnes ended up tearing the curtains down, tying the ends together with that of the sheets and blankets, a single goal flickering in front of her eyes: escape from the castle. Within an hour, she was once more standing outside on the balcony with her gripsack on her back, her dark cape upon her shoulders, and the rope of sheets, blankets and curtains snaking in the wind all the way down to the muddy ground by the castle. A single question was screaming in her mind.

„ Who are you running from, Agnes?" She kept asking herself, but flapping the answer away. She was a wayfarer of liberty, she could not' help this, or at least that was the way she wanted to think there and then.

„ It is too late to turn back now..." With that, she seized the first sheet that was tied to the balustrade, and carefully began descending. Raindrops pierced the skin on her face and hands, but she did not feel it, her senses were blinded by other impressions. By the time Agnes was half way down, she was not at all sure, that she had done the right thing.

„ Might I never see Dracula again, or will I be haunted by him for the rest of my life?" Agnes was not sure which would be worse. She wagged her head, and looking up, considered the possibilities of climbing back. She gave a sigh, which ended up as a scream of surprise as she heard a voice from behind herself. She forgot about the rain, her position and foolishly let go of the curtain she was clinging to. To her amazement, she never began to fall, but ended up panting in two strong arms. Agnes started exploring the familiar clothes the man wore.

„ Black Bocskai-coat, collar of a black shirt, a golden earring..." It was Dracula, in mid-air, a pair of flapping black wings on his back. Agnes was gaping, unsure about what to feel or say, but she knew she was not going to like whatever the count has to say to her.

„ I just asked what you were doing out here." sounded the booming voice of Dracula, but he got no answer. „ Oh, of course, you're right, this is not the proper place to converse." With that, the flapping of his wings speeded up, and they began rising, and finally Dracula landed upon Agnes' balcony, with the angel still gazing frozen at him. After getting bored of the staring and getting wet in the rain, Dracula gracefully put Agnes down, who instinctively began backing into the room with slow steps she tried to make swifter, but her feet resisted obedience. Dracula's giant leather wings disappeared after having landed on the balcony, but Agnes could not clear that sight from her eyes. Two candles were lit up by Dracula's snap of his fingers on the vanity table, giving a slightly warmer atmosphere with their light. Dracula could see Agnes in the dark perfectly, but he wanted her to see him as well, otherwise there would be no fun in the game. The count walked towards Agnes in the same rhythm as she was retreating, their feet moving in perfect accord with each other, as if those were the steps of the elegant dance to the music of the pattering sound of Agnes' heels.

„ So.." began Dracula finally „ would you care to answer my question now?" walking ever so stately with his hands behind his back towards the speechless Agnes, who hit the cold stone wall after a time. The scent of freesia from Agnes' hair and red rage clouded Dracula's mind, but even to his own surprise, he stayed calm, and was curious about any explanation. He stepped closer to Agnes, and whispered into her neck, rather than he ear.

„ Tell me dear Agnes..." Agnes' heart was pounding in her head, with excitement and mad fear, of what, she could not exactly fathom. She felt her blood rush as Dracula left half of the sentence in the air, like icicles hanging over her head, threatening her with icy demise, while the count's cool breath upon her neck threatening her with losing her mind. „..why are you always running? What is pursuing you? Or should I ask, what are you pursuing?" Part of Agnes wanted to speak, while the angel in her soul still guarded her secrets with all her might, keeping her mouth, the lock of her soul closed.

„ It is such a shame that you resist to talk to me to night my beloved..." said Dracula as his hands slid from Agnes' face down to her neck, to the medal upon her necklace. He felt the soft, warm touch of her skin against his cool fingers, smelt the sweet blood rushing in her veins, fear and infatuation at every beat of her heart...all would be his very soon now. Agnes' thoughts and emotions were flying with fear, that always seemed to linger in the back of her mind, and unmercifully came to the surface. She tried to catch Dracula's gaze, but he just kept looking at her jewel.

„ I wonder if he's planning my means of death right now.."

The count lifted his head to have his gaze cut deep into Agnes' eyes, the bottomless well of her thoughts. Agnes knew exactly what Dracula was doing, but she had not the might to stop him, or resist him.

„ Tsk-tsk Agnes, I thought you knew me better than that. Do not let fear blur your thoughts, that is not for the good of the warrior, which you are, ..no?" Agnes flew into a rage at this comment, if she had her sword, she would have stabbed Dracula right across the chest, even that she knew it would mean no harm to him, she would have done it. And she has not doubted it showed on her face

„ Now, that is more like it.." Dracula said in a saucy manner, „ I would not find you so entertaining if you were dead you know that" he studied Agnes' face that still held the savage look of a cornered wolf . And in her eyes, Dracula saw something untameable and frantic that he would barely be able to control, even as her sire. „ Fast, furious, and unpredictable..what a fabulous vampire she'll make" He felt his own blood begin to rush, an odd sensation, at the thought of having such a creature for himself, to be present at eh dawn of a fallen angel. Long minutes passed as Dracula rambled in Agnes' mind to find out what he wanted, and spoke again. " Why want to live in pain, my angel? Expose yourself to suffering…brought to you by the freedom that you so eagerly desire? Freedom is a dolorous burden..." Agnes saw the count's annoyingly smiling face differently now, and answered with a sarcastic smile.

„ Once you learn to endure the pain of freedom, then nothing could ever cause you any pain...But what do you know of freedom?" She finished the sentence in a sharp and cheeky tone, hoping his warder would get what she meant. Dracula understood perfectly what his favourite captive meant to convey, but he ignored it momentarily, knowing this would be the last time Ages longed for freedom in her life...but he didn't need to tell her that.

„ You have tried my patience angel." he said in a different tone, not dripping of poisoned honey, the smile melting away from his handsome features, almost making Agnes' hair stand at an end. „ I shall have to make sure you reach Budapest..hmm... safely...You did not cease to be a danger to yourself as I see." With that, Dracula took two rings from the pocket of his coat. One was a bare silver ring without embellishments, while the other formed silver bat wings around a heart-shaped black hematite. The two rings were bound to each other with a chain of about ten inches, and Agnes numbly watched Dracula put the bare one on his own left ring finger, then lifting her right hand, and elegantly slip the one with the gem onto her right ring finger. The chain that connected the two rings disappeared after a few moments to Agnes' not so minor surprise, and she stole a glance at Dracula, and suspiciously pulled her hand away to study her new jewel. The pitch-black stone was glittering in the half-light with a slight tint of grey.

„ Hematite...the blood-stone..." Agnes recalled seeing hematite once, she would never forget the sight of the precious stone turning clear water into blood red. „ So much like him to give me such a thing..."

„ You will meet me in Budapest then my dear, have a pleasant journey." Agnes heard Dracula's harsh voice in her ears, but as she looked up, lighting flashed, and the count disappeared in front of her very eyes. First, she just stood numbly, and then, as if pooped up from a dream, was taken over by the knowledge of her earlier foolishness and helplessness.

„ Oh, we are not finished yet 'dear Dracula'" she growled to herself, imitating the count's sweetish, nerve-ruffling voice for the last words. She dropped her wet gripsack and cloak to the floor, then looked at the ring on her finger once more, and tried to get it off, but it would not come. She could see it was not at all tight, still, it would not move an inch. For the second time that night, the angel was caught off guard, and she soon found herself in Dracula's arms, their mouths so close, she could feel his chilly breath upon the warm flesh of her lips, fingers with the rings entwined, the small chain visible again, wrapped around her wrist-bone. Agnes looked at Dracula's smiling lips, and their mouths met in a dangerously deepening kiss within a few seconds. Their tongues wrestled in sinful passion, tasting and teasing each other in a wild way, like never before. With the chain on the rings gone again, Agnes wrapped her arms around Dracula's neck and sunk her nails into the cold flesh of his neck with flare, just enough to make a lustful groan escape his lips. The count's hands snaked around Agnes' waist and found their ways under Agnes' shirt, but his touch on her skin was soft enough to drive Agnes to the edge of madness. Dracula's exalted lips soon wandered from Agnes' mouth to her marble-white neck, and as she let her head fall back, allowing the count hold her like a trusting lover, slid to her chest, down to the neckline of her shirt, their ravishing touch of velvet evoking thoughts and desires in Agnes, angelic not the least. Thereafter, it were Agnes' lips that found Dracula's once more in a searing kiss, that only ended the moment, when the angel could feel a piercing shot of pain on her lips..Dracula's fangs. She instinctively pulled away, tearing herself from the embrace so treasured for long minutes, and snapped at her mouth. She kept backing away from Dracula as she saw the precious red liquid upon the end of her fingers, and the count's mouth, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand to clear it off. As for Dracula, he did not need his hand to clear the blood away. Agnes was horrified beyond measure, mostly by the fact that by the time she was several steps away from the vampire, she actually wanted to walk back to Dracula, and continue where they broke off. She could only have been more scared if she was aware of the count knowing all about her inner turmoil.

„ It must have been the ring..." she tried to explain to herself. Dracula's eyes played in a nighted colour with remains of delirium when he noticed his body being slightly warmer after the angel's touch, and the taste of her sweet blood. „This is not to be ruined now..." he calmed the surging fiery passion within, only to leave the well-known quiet that dwells before the Earth-shaking tempest. However, that tempest was only to come a little later. „Until she stops deceiving herself...I can wait, after centuries of waiting, a single night won't mean a thing." Agnes has regained the control over her body, ignoring its aching for the count's touch, and her mind took over again.

„ What is this ring, that you gave me?" she finally asked in a dying voice, glaring at Dracula, still embarrassed by her earlier outburst of desires.

„ I thought you'd never ask." The count walked up to the faltering Agnes, and gently took her hand, for the second time that evening. Dracula ran his thumb finger over the smooth surface of the hematite stone in a delicate circle.

„ This, my beloved, „ he began temptingly „ is a unique jewellery of power, a slave-ring." Agnes raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but the count continued „ The one wearing the master ring" upon saying this, he gestured towards his own hand" has control over the other, who was bound to him by the chain that disappears once the rings are in their proper places." The vampire's mesmerizing gaze pierced through Agnes' eyes, clearly implying dominance. „Useful, is it not?" Dracula asked in a casual way.

„ Oh, no doubt..." came the answer from lips wearing a forced ironic smile.

„ Very well then, I am amused that for the first time, we share an opinion. You will see yourself later, how useful it is. And do forgive me now, I have to depart before dawn breaks." The rain has already stopped outside, and the clouds were slowly drifting away towards the eastern horizon, to see the sunrise, and a clock struck five somewhere in the castle.

„ Then we will meet in Budapest within twelve hours...I hope that will be enough time to re-evaluate things in your mind, dearest." Agnes heard the second part of the sentence only within her head, but she had not the power to comment anything witty on it. Dracula kissed her hand gently, and the blood she wiped off from her lips, was gone in an instant. The count bowed his head one last time, then elegantly turned around, walked to the balcony, and flung himself from the balustrade.

Hours later, Agnes was locked in the carriage again, haunted by fays of sleep, trying her hardest to stay awake, and think, „re-evaluate things" as Dracula's words were being repeated in her head. She was still scared by how much she lost control, and let her deep sentiments control her...and how peccantly beauteous it felt. The line between what is wrong, and what is right, was growing thinner with each minute she spent in Dracula's company. Agnes wondered what would happen if she just abandoned her defences and let herself flow in the river of events with her heart steering. The Sun had already risen, as she could see from the carriage window, and cast part of its rays upon the world through the heavy grey clouds, and Agnes thought of her grandmother. She smiled when she remembered an event from her childhood, her first real impression of mystery. Her grandmother was sitting under an arbour of roses in the gardens of Nádudvar Castle, singing a song the little Agnes found particularly strange. She sneaked upon the elderly lady planning to greet her as a surprise, but then she got absorbed in her voice. Now she knew why it sounded so heavenly...The old Lady Gabriella stopped singing as soon as she noticed her granddaughter, but the catchy melody remained in Agnes' head and ears for all her life. She spent her boring hours complementing it, rewriting the lyrics, but there in the carriage she decided to quietly sing the fragment to herself, exactly as she heard it for the first time. Agnes' voice was lost in the noise of the wheels and horses hooves, but in her head, it sounded clear, both in sound...and after what she had to live through over the previous months, in meaning too.

Silly little game,

I lie and I believe

Selfish little game,

my angel-heart is taken to Hell

When I feel, that to me you mean all

the only thing, that mine I can call

I'd fly to your embrace,

but I lie and hide my face.

I'd whisper to you sweet words,

but I leave my heart in darkness covered

still I feel, what is now, before never has been,

earlier left to my eyes unseen

It is only a presage down deep inside,

for I dare not believe,

that forever is starting tonight...

Agnes never earlier wished so eagerly to know how the song originally ended...to know the outcome of her adventure.

**Well, do let me know what you think of this one, please review! Especially the song! Love you all, who took the time to read my work!**


	28. XXVIII Welcome to my City

**Hello, dear readers! I am so happy with all the reviews I got on my last update, I cannot be thankful enough for your kind responses! I posted a review in which I thank all my reviewers, for I don't know if the new rule that forbade thanking you in the chapter is still valid, or not. Enjoy the chapter!**

The carriage abruptly made its way through the countryside, leaving villages behind, getting closer to the darkness and the upcoming ball with every step of the cursed black horses that Igor flogged so enthusiastically. The Sun died its temporary death behind the mountains on the West coast of the Danube, making all shine in dark orange, giving part of it's glory to the undeserving world. As orange slowly faded into red, Agnes opened her eyes, slowly waking from her dreamless sleep.

„Blood will be shed tonight..." was her first thought as she looked at the cavalcade of coloured clouds in the distance. The dim lights of the many gas lamps of Budapest were barely visible on the Northern horizon at the time of sunset, and by the time the first houses of the suburbs were glaring at the elegant carriage, the graceful crescent of the Moon was already high, looking down threateningly, that she might fall and cut the throat of those who didn't have fun that night. Igor made the horses walk in a courtly manner as they were manoeuvring along the cobbled streets toward the heart of the city, the damned rider in a hood getting occasional greetings from fellow-riders, but refusing to answer any. The black carriage would slide along the streets, at times, narrow, other times wide, without gaining any particular attention; the people of the city that was vibrating with life and unlife, were not surprised by peculiar people coming to visit, bringing their peculiar habits with them. Though the proprietor of the carriage was more than a visitor there, Agnes heard Dracula refer to Budapest as his city more than once. She glared out the carriage window to the streets and her eyes met a row of villas passing by slowly, built in old and new styles, with fancy, but at this time of the year, barren gardens. The angel saw people clad in posh style on the other sides the arched windows, heard their laughs, the tinkling sound of glasses, and it occurred to her that she never before thought of what Dracula's ball would be like. Then Igor turned the horses left, and they found themselves at one end of a grand road. Agnes read the street sign.

„Andrássy Avenue. So we're here finally."

The avenue was lit by gas lamps on either side, whose light was dimmed by the fog slowly crawling from the direction of the Batthyány Gardens' lake nearby. A row of villas built of finer grandeur than the outer ones welcomed the newly arrived travellers; some served as private homes furnished exquisitely, while others as international embassies or hotels that welcomed guests from all around the world. Crowds of people were taking their evening walks along the picturesque road, as the weather was considerably warm compared to the season, and the sky already put her night-black dress trimmed with stars on. The elite longing for a touch of beauty were either preparing for Dracula's ball, or walking along Andrássy Avenue. The steady rhythm of elegant villas was suddenly broken by an octagonal square, the crossing of Teréz Boulevard. Agnes let her eyes wander in the direction of the Western Train Station, as she smelled smoke being brought by the wind. She loved travelling by trains, her second choice if Midnight was not available. The distant whistle of a starting train woke her from the daydream as they moved back into among the houses again. They were all built in neo-renaissance or neo-baroque styles, with their windows looking at Agnes, greeting her amiably. Distinguished shop windows charmed her, the wealth that showed on all people and their homes, stunned her. High trees stood reaching toward the skies, giving a friendly feeling in winter, and shade over the summer. The buildings turned more magnificent with each passing meter; statues of gods and goddesses held torches, supported balconies on their shoulders, danced on window sills, arched windows decorated with carvings let the light escape from inside. A large building broke the elegant monotony of houses, and there stood the Opera House on one side, facing the Ballet Institute on the other. Agnes could not take her eyes off the Opera; the white marble glimmered in the ochre lustre of the gas lamps of Budapest, on top of crooked iron lampposts, standing by the bellyband sphinxes guarding statues of writers and playwrights and the entrance. Above the balcony in front of the windows with tympanums, hung a placard: 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute.' Agnes' lips curved to a smile when she remembered seeing that in London, what an evening it was. At the end of Andrássy Avenue, St. Stephen's Basilica towered above them, and Igor was very eager to avoid even the shadow of such a holy place. The rows of sculptured saints were looking at Igor with disdainful eyes, and cast sorrowful glances at Agnes. The latter had an odd fascination for churches; she admired their splendid architecture and embellishment, despite the fact that she did not believe in the one, whose glory all was created for. The high dome of the basilica kept watching the soulless rider and the passenger captivated between darkness and light, until they disappeared in the narrow streets leading to the Danube. Agnes was not exactly sure where Dracula's residence might be, since this part of Pest was not for the palaces of the aristocracy. All became clear when they reached a circus, and saw the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, that has been embracing the Danube for almost a decade now. Last time she visited Budapest, it was left half finished because of the war. But then it stood in front of her in its full glory, the two grand arches connected by chains thick enough to strangle giants with them, lit by hundreds of gas lamps, all reflected on the dark waters of the Danube. The lions lying on both sides in front of the arch, guardians of the passage to Buda, presented a growl of stone to all who passed. And they were deadly in deed; their creator drowned himself into the river for omitting to put tongues in the stone creatures' mouths.

„ The Rose Mountain of Buda, the elite quarter. That is where his palace will stand. I should have known" Agnes quietly thought to herself as her eyes traced the inky surface of the river. She tried drowning herself in it once, near its mouth in Romania, but the Danube just spat her out, like the cork of fine French champagne. But as the passing gas lamps blurred her vision of the water, she felt she had emotions in her heart...emotions for which she would gladly die, and even risk living. The aura of the city, which surely had to something with Dracula's presence, toyed with Agnes' senses, in a way more enjoyable than disturbing.

Dracula was lying on one of the many stone balconies' balustrade, staring at the night sky, with one leg and arm lolling towards the abyss beneath him. Inside the castle, preparations were still not finished, the chatter and the steps of the servants made a quiet and steady noise, an ideal background for musing. The count turned his head towards Pest, and felt a strange breeze coming from the direction of the Chain Bridge.

„ Ah, she is getting closer...The slave-ring has served well." Dracula smiled to himself, and paid a quiet note to how he was connected to his „vampire-angel" as he thought of her lately. He looked at the night sky, and wondered what she would be like, if turned. How she would moan when he sank his fangs into the powdery white flesh of her neck, the look on her face as she takes her last breath, the last beat of her angel-heart giving its place to the deathly stillness of a vampire's heart, what colour her eyes would fade into as she lusts for blood, or him...and he would be able to see the world through her eyes. No sense of guilt tortured Dracula at turning an angel to a vampire, he even found it diverting. He will laugh in the face of God as he drinks her blood.

„And I would taste her tonight..."

The count's fingers played with a single white rose he took from the decorated walls, as the cool wind played with a loose strand of his hair, as his lips would play on Agnes' skin a few hours later. The sound of a carriage approaching hit his sensitive ears, and he glared into the darkness covering the side of the mountain, like a thick blanket. The lights of Pest on the Eastern flat bank of the Danube looked as if the starry sky had been pulled down and laid upon the plains. But even the lively lights could not dim the lynx eyed count's sight. The carriage with its precious passenger was approaching in a steady pace. On his skin, he felt every breath the angel took in the warm darkness of the carriage, as if she were standing right next to him. Dracula knew the all-consuming emptiness would be partly filled as soon as Agnes arrived. That was the one thing he was sure to miss, aside from the warmth, once she was no longer in possession of her soul.

Agnes could not take her eyes off the imposing building standing in the wind that blew at the top of the mountain they were quickly getting closer to. The horses never slowed down, not even the steep road could fatigue them. The trees sleeping their winter dreams on the side of the road, danced in the wind, leaning towards the Danube, then towards the mountain, reached in the direction of the carriage menacingly. Agnes could not wait to get out of the carriage as they finally reached the stoned yard guarded by the high stone fence of the castle. Two pointed towers with soaring pinnacles welcomed the visitor who dared to enter this aerie of the undead, many lancet windows, rose windows and stone balconies ennobled the facade. The main portal's old oak doors were deep-set under multiple pointed arches, decorated with stone carvings.

„ Like a Gothic cathedral...how odd." ran through Agnes' mind as the carriage stopped right in front of the steps leading to the doors. This time she didn't wait for Igor to come and open the door, she just got out by herself as quickly as possible; her mind may have been fresh from the sleep but her feet were almost totally numb after sitting for a whole day again. Agnes stretched her arms and legs, and looked around. She saw Igor climb down from the dickey-seat, but nobody else was there.

„ And just where is Vladislaus?" she thought out loud.

„ How nice of you to be looking for Me. Welcome to my city, dear love." a voice said in the twilight. Agnes gave a scream of surprise and popped around clenching her fists instinctively. There stood Dracula facing her, wearing his usual devilishly luring smile. Agnes rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.

„ If it were not you, I would swear you have just fallen from above. But keep on doing this, and I will accidentally punch you in the stomach once." she said sarcastically with arms entwined, and played with the punching thought for a while.

„ That, my dear is not that far from the truth as you would expect. She how much we have in common? But is that the way you greet the people who have been kind to you?"

„Kind? Hmm..." Agnes thought to herself „Except for this ring-thing he has been kind to me actually...somewhat."

„I just saved your life last night again, remember?" Dracula said, as he began walking around Agnes in a circle, with so light steps only a vampire was able to take.

„ That would not have happened if..."she began fiercely, but decided to change the subject instead „ Why are we arguing here anyway? You brought me here all the way from Transylvania to quarrel over what happened last night?" Agnes asked with furrowed eyebrows.

„ No, that was not the reason. Though I have to admit, I enjoy your little shots of trying to anger me. That is only the cream on top of the cake." The count paused for a while. „ Said is, when you actually succeed" He hissed, but then returned to his charming manners. „And do not try to deny that you find amusement in it as well..." Dracula was in front of Agnes once more, but much closer this time. He took her hand, and placed it on his cheek, indulging in the soft and warm touch. He never forgot her outburst of passion from last night, and Agnes could not forget the small wound on her lip.

„ So cold, and so hot, two at the same time..." A storm was raging inside Agnes just by a single touch of the count's hands, and knowing it was a foolish thing to do, she looked into Dracula's eyes, wanting to know all. By the time the count spun her around, gently swept her hair from her neck, and with eyes closed, placed his chin upon her shoulder, the angel knew that he wanted, and felt that she would give her blood, her love, her body, her soul. Dracula allowed himself a pleased smile, and as several lulling minutes passed, an intense whisper stroked Agnes' ear.

„ I brought you here to dance with me." With that, he spun Agnes out of his embrace, their only contact remained their hands, and the rings.

„ How come he always catch me off guard?..." All the rest Agnes wanted to say, was still stuck in her throat. She may have been fearless in battle, but she grew slightly afraid of the feeling that she wanted Dracula to drain her of life. But despite her silence, Dracula knew that the love-game they played, would soon bring its fruits to both of them.

„ So, then what are you waiting for?" Agnes asked, wearing a tempting look on her face. She let go of the count's hand and set off towards the doors of the castle, only to be pulled back by Dracula as she tried to pass him.

„ Then come with me." The count said, and gestured for Agnes to turn around.

„ If I have to get back to that carriage, my.." But she was surprised once again, and not for the last time that evening. A landau gracefully wheeled from behind the black carriage that was just leaving the scene, and stopped right in front of them. Carved of ebony, seats of the softest black felt, the whip, to Agnes' surprise, he was human, wearing black clothes. The four magnificent white horses were in prefect contrast both with the landau, and the night. Full of energy, they were neighing and snorting impatiently as Dracula took Agnes' bag, climbed onto the landau, and turning back, held out his hand fro Agnes. The latter took it without any hesitation this time; she was in the mood for this never-ending adventure. They comfortably seated themselves opposite each other, and the landau set off towards the gates, down the mountain, in the direction of Pest. Dracula kept his gaze on Agnes' face most of the time, reading her thoughts occasionally. As for Agnes, mostly she lost herself under the count's hypnotic glare, at other times she kept turning her head into every direction, just as the thoughts were flying in her head. She knew what she had to decide on that night; choose love, and the damnation that walks hand in hand with it, feast on the blood of the living for eternity, or run away, never look back, and keep running for the rest of her life from Dracula, and from herself...

As the landau was wearing the stones away in the streets of Buda, a silent rider arrived in Budapest. Fatigued, but still flared, Nikolai Valerious rode towards the heart of the city, trying to find a shop where he could buy a costume and mask for Dracula's masquerade ball. He wanted the count's demise at any cost, and his only hope rested in the sword that hung from his leather belt. He took it from among the family relics before he left, led by the idea that he had been cherishing for several months, keeping it secret. The sword itself was centuries old, heavy, and the blade was even eaten by rust at places. The sword with which the Left Hand of God killed Dracula, as the legend says.

„ I hope it would bring me luck to when I'm in need of it.." Nikolai quietly said to himself, as he slipped down from his horse on Andrássy Avenue in front of a clothes shop, and hearing the clock of the nearby basilica strike six, noted he still has an hour to get ready for the ball.

**Well, so much for now, I am hoping you liked Budapest. It looks very much the way I describe it even today, one of my favourite places in the world! Don't forget to read my review in which I thank all of you! Please let me know what you think, and review, all reviews are much appreciated! And thank you for reading!**


End file.
